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.

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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 Year1. Alex Burnett2. Anna Lunoe3. Aidan Hogg4. Alice Ivy5. Robby De Sa

Breakthrough Producer of the Year1. Xavier Dunn2. Fletcher Matthews3. Ninajirachi4. Jonathon Tooke5. Moss McGregor6. Sophie Edwards

Writer-Producer of the Year1. Anna Lunoe2. Robby De Sa3. Lucy Blomkamp4. Rob Amaruso5. Aidan Hogg

Recording Engineer of the Year1. George Carpenter2. Lewis Mitchell3. Simon Cohen4. Rohan Sforcina5. Wayne Connolly

Mix Engineer of the Year1. Simon Cohen2. Eric J Dubowsky3. Thomas Purcell p.k.a. Wave Racer4. Nao Anzai5. Nick Herrera

Mastering Engineer of the Year1. Nao Anzai2. Lachlan Carrick3. Nicholas Di Lorenzo4. Joe Carra5. Andrew Edgeson

Studio of the Year1. Pughouse Studios2. Empire Studios3. Synth Temple4. 4000 Studios5. Audrey Studios

Self-Producing Artist of the Year1. Harvey Sutherland2. Alice Ivy3. Anna Lunoe4. Ninajirachi5. Skeleten

Overseas Achievement1. Tim Tan2. Catherine Marks3. Styalz Fuego4. Keanu Beats5. Dom Dolla

Outstanding Community Work1. Songmakers2. Kool Skools3. Music Producers Development Program4. Music Production for Women5. Resonate

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