Mike Chapman, the legendary songwriter and producer behind hits for Blondie, Suzy Quatro, Pat Benatar, Tina Turner, Toni Basil, and many others, will be saluted at the 2026 MPEG Awards.
The Nambour, Queensland-raised music man will receive the 2026 MPEG Lifetime Achievement Award next month during a ceremony in Sydney, recognition as one of Australia’s most influential global music figures.
After relocating to the U.K. in the 1970s, Chapman joined forces with Nicky Chinn and set about changing the face of pop music with hits for Suzi Quatro, Smokie, Mud and Sweet.
A move to the United States proved to be a shrewd one, as Chapman went on to produce Blondie’s classic Parallel Lines (from 1978), housing the global smash “Heart of Glass.”
Chapman kept the hits coming by producing Get The Knack (1979), home to the Knack’s blistering “My Sharona,” and through the 1980s he co-wrote a long list of smashes with Holly Knight, including “Love Is a Battlefield” (Pat Benatar), “Better Be Good to Me” and “The Best” (Tina Turner).
Across his decorated, five-decade career, Chapman has amassed a vast tab of production credits, from Baby Animals to Pat Benatar, Rod Stewart, Bow Wow Wow, Divinyls, Australian Crawl, Agnetha Fältskog, Lita Ford, and more, and in 2014, he received the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for his contributions to music.
Established in 2022, the MPEG Awards was established by Music Producer and Engineers’ Guild of Australia (MPEG) to shine a light on excellence across music production, engineering and studio work in Australia, and is the only national awards program to do so.
Shure is sponsor of the event, set for Wednesday, Feb. 25 at the Darling Rooms Dockside on Cockle Bay Wharf.
On the night, eleven categories will be presented, nominations for which are announced today, Jan. 15.
“What really stands out this year is just how strong the work is across the board,” comments Anna Laverty, chair and founding director of MPEG. “These nominations reflect an incredible amount of care, craft and creativity, and being recognized by your peers in this way really means something. Huge congratulations to everyone nominated.”
All nominees were selected following an open submission process, with entries assessed by a panel of carefully selected judges based on work released during the eligibility period. Visit mpeg.org.au for more.
2026 MPEG Awards nominees:
Producer of the Year
1. Alex Burnett
2. Anna Lunoe
3. Aidan Hogg
4. Alice Ivy
5. Robby De Sa
Breakthrough Producer of the Year
1. Xavier Dunn
2. Fletcher Matthews
3. Ninajirachi
4. Jonathon Tooke
5. Moss McGregor
6. Sophie Edwards
Writer-Producer of the Year
1. Anna Lunoe
2. Robby De Sa
3. Lucy Blomkamp
4. Rob Amaruso
5. Aidan Hogg
Recording Engineer of the Year
1. George Carpenter
2. Lewis Mitchell
3. Simon Cohen
4. Rohan Sforcina
5. Wayne Connolly
Mix Engineer of the Year
1. Simon Cohen
2. Eric J Dubowsky
3. Thomas Purcell p.k.a. Wave Racer
4. Nao Anzai
5. Nick Herrera
Mastering Engineer of the Year
1. Nao Anzai
2. Lachlan Carrick
3. Nicholas Di Lorenzo
4. Joe Carra
5. Andrew Edgeson
Studio of the Year
1. Pughouse Studios
2. Empire Studios
3. Synth Temple
4. 4000 Studios
5. Audrey Studios
Self-Producing Artist of the Year
1. Harvey Sutherland
2. Alice Ivy
3. Anna Lunoe
4. Ninajirachi
5. Skeleten
Overseas Achievement
1. Tim Tan
2. Catherine Marks
3. Styalz Fuego
4. Keanu Beats
5. Dom Dolla
Outstanding Community Work
1. Songmakers
2. Kool Skools
3. Music Producers Development Program
4. Music Production for Women
5. Resonate
