Alan at his Broadway Studio, Nashville 1988

This is my 40th year as a professional photographer
and my 29th year of living in Nashville.

Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings were the first artists I photographed
when I arrived in Nashville on assignment, in 1977.

Waylon 1977
This is one of my first Nashville photographs.

Some Nashvillians still think I speak "real funny".
Waylon once told me “you need to learn to speak proper, Hoss!”

This is my first commissioned album project photographed for Anchor Records (London) in 1976!
Artist: Cado Belle / design: Seabrook, Graves and Aslet

My first LP album cover was
Bobbie Gentry's "Ill Never Fall In Love Again" (EMI-UK)
(photographed in Manchester Square,London, May 1968)

© Rex Features Ltd.

biography

............................................

Alan left school at sixteen to become a professional photographer in London. He shot his first magazine cover a few days later (Manfred Mann promoting "The Mighty Quinn"), the second, published September 14th 1968, was the Beatles (Yellow Submarine).

Alan insatiably photographed the British rock and pop scene, working from Dezo Hoffmann's studio as an apprentice and freelance photographer, during which time he also photographed: The Rolling Stones, Diana Ross, The Kinks, T.Rex. He left Hoffmann's studio to work briefly with renowned music photographer, Gered Mankowitz, before opening his own London studio.

During the seventies Messer was the resident Old Grey Whistle Test (BBC) photographer and was tour photographer for Iggy Pop, Deep Purple and photographed many visiting touring US bands and artists including several country music musicians, both in his studio and on the road. 
With "itchy feet", excited by America and it's commercial possibilities, Messer moved from his native England to Nashville and opened a studio there in 1978. An amazing opportunity to photograph the country music scene unfolded. 
The Los Angeles based record companies hired Messer instead of importing their West Coast based photographers. He got the work and the budgets were spent on the photography and not wasted on travel and accommodation.

During the 80s Alan was often shooting a session a day, many of which were LP album covers. His nights were spent printing in his darkroom. After a few years of a pounding schedule, he was forced into a break.
During this transition period, Alan was introduced to silk-screen printing, which immediately became commercially successful and he won a Grammy in 1989 in the Album Packaging category.
A screen print of his photograph of Johnny Cash set the stage for a series of ten albums for CBS Records (now Sony) called “American Originals”.  The Cash print, although not part of the series, defined the graphic style. Alan was about to return home to England when he consequently became so in demand with photography and printmaking, that he never left Nashville. 

A limited edition book of Alan’s photographs of Johnny Cash
(1977 - 2003), is to be published in 2008 by Genesis Publications, titled,
JOHNNY CASH American Legend.

Alan Messer_biography 2007_"long + winding" version

click PRESS PASS 1973 for access
to personal archived "happy snaps"

rubber stamp for freelance photography, 1968

Below is one of my early photographs published in 1968
The Small Faces are posing on the roof of Immediate Records,
New Oxford Street, London.

L-R: Ronnie "Plonk" Lane, Ian MacLagen, Kenny Jones, Steve Marriott
photography by Alan Messer 1968 © Rex Features Ltd.

I use Kodak film

I am happiest with my Nikon loaded with a roll of Kodak
In the studio I use Tri-X 35mm and 120mm in my Hasselblad
I love TMAX-3200, because It allows me to go anywhere
and has a wonderful grain and tonal range.