The Pirelli Calendar 2022 looks like a precious collectible vinyl record, special packaging for this The Cal which focuses on musicians curated by a musician, Bryan Adams.
On the Roadwhich is the theme and title of The Cal, was created by Bryan Adams, Canadian musician with more than 100 million copies sold and for some years also a photographer. Adams photographed a cast of great artists including Cher, Iggy Pop, Jennifer Hudson and Rita Ora, creating a stunning visual journey on a typical musician’s day on tour.
The photographer he tried to capture not only the atmosphere but also the solitude that is “really present” on the roadrepresented as “Immersed in fantasy”explained the Canadian Grammy winner.
Two are depicted on the two covers of the calendar rock stars of different eras; the front cover portrays a St. Vincent, aka Annie Clark, posing with a Pirelli-branded pick on her tongue. Adams explained that the moment she took the photograph, she knew she would be the perfect image for the cover.
The back of the calendar instead features an extraordinary shot of Iggy Pop, frontman of The Stooges, with the torso painted in silver, a clear reference to a famous stage look from the early 70s. Each month is linked to a specific time, following the singers during an imaginary day. January starts at 7:45 am with some still-life and exteriors of the Chateau Marmont hotel in Hollywood, already location for the shooting of several stars.
The month of February takes the title “10:13 am, room 29, Chateau Marmont”where St. Vincent gazes raptly through the bedroom curtains.
The March image is at 10:42 am and portrays Kali Uchis, the American singer-songwriter of Colombian origins and famous for her provocative sound, which she enjoys “A day at the pool”: Uchis is portrayed on the swimming pool diving board, wrapped in a shining green dress, wearing jewels and high heels. The month of April is identified from 11:38 am, with the American rapper Saweetie intent on “Check out at the Hotel Scalinatella” in Capri, and poses at the entrance while pushing a trolley loaded with luggage wearing a silver dress and high heels.
The month of May shows Cher that “Enter the backstage” at 14:43. Cher walks to the mirror in an empty dressing room at the Palace Theater in Los Angeles as she swipes a lipstick on the mirror. The American R&B singer Normani is the protagonist of the June shot, at 3:28 pm, while she “rests on the bus before the sound check”, laying on a bed and next to a tourist bus. In July, it’s 6:25 pm when Jennifer Hudson “Arrives at destination” aboard his limousine, before checking the stage and taking a look at the empty auditorium, to then sit in his dressing room, surrounded by flowers.
The month of August portrays Iggy Pop’s stage an hour before the show starts. Iggy Pop is shirtless, sprawled in a green armchair and dances in front of the camera in the basement.
In the September pages it is 12.12 am and Canadian singer-songwriter and producer Grimes poses wearing a futuristic dress and her hair is pink: Grimes finds himself in the middle of a series of gigantic computers “in his studio”, wrapped in a suit with splinters metallic. In October, at 1:42 am Bohan Phoenix, an American rapper of Chinese descent, is “Facing the hotel”, poses in the traffic of the Sunset Strip and on a grand piano in his hotel room. The November pages are dedicated to “After show”, in fact, it is 03:02 in the morning. British singer-songwriter and actress Rita Ora relaxes in the bathtub, wearing a dress that appears to be made of metal mesh, after which she stops the traffic by posing on the seat of a car in the middle of the road.
In the pages of December it is Bryan Adams who ends the journey at 04:12, on the way to the new concert, with his guitar and aboard a classic car.
In the pages of December it is Bryan Adams who ends the journey at 04:12, on the way to the next concert, with his guitar and aboard a classic car.