[3] Messer bought his first camera in 1958, a Kodak Brownie 127; he wanted to document his family and the environment around the south east coast of England where he grew up.

Within a few weeks, he had a front page of Manfred Mann, who marketed their new single "Mighty Quinn", and then in 1968 The Beatles who posed for their film campaign for Yellow Submarine.

[8] RETRO 50 is an exhibition on view until 2025 presented by This is Noteworthy [9] and The Madnest, and includes iconic photo subjects spanning the photographer´s career like John Lennon, George Harrison, Marc Bolan, Elton John, Keith Richards, Johnny Cash, David Bowie, Iggy Pop, James Brown, Stevie Ray Vaughan, The Rolling Stones, Leonard Cohen, Bob Marley, The Beatles, Diana Ross, and many more.

The documentary made its world premiere in November 2023 at the DOC NYC Festival and later at Nashville’s Woolworth Theatre.

Amongst the invitees to the latter included The Cash Family, Emmylou Harris, Larry Gatlin, or actress Jane Seymour.