Pirelli calendar. Behind the scenes of life on the road through the eyes of Brian Adams

The world’s most famous calendar is back after a year of break due to the pandemic, this time with Brian Adams backstage.

With its first edition released in 1964, the Pirelli calendar was originally designed by British art director Derek Forsyth. During the past 57 years, 47 issues were published, and this year it was 48. Publication was suspended in 1967 and for the nine years after 1974 as a result of the 1973 oil crisis.

Canadian musician and photographer Brian Adams joins the likes of Peter Lindbergh, Annie Leibovitz, Harry Pichinotti, Sarah Moon and Karl Lagarfield in this year’s production of Cal.

On the Road is the theme chosen for this year’s edition and aims to show the scenes of a musician on tour. For this, artists Rita Ora, Cher, Iggy Pop, Jennifer Hudson, Grimes, Normani and Kali O’Shea are the heroes.

Although the idea came to Brian Adams, he claims that each musician has brought their own essence to the shoots: “No matter what you give them in terms of how we do things, it’s their personality that shines through, even if it’s this or that,” he said. For the Guardian newspaper.

In an interview with CNN, the photographer showed that the fact that music was shared between him and the models made him feel on an equal footing: “There’s an instant understanding when we meet, even if we’ve never met before – the fact that you’re a musician and I’m a musician.”

Although it is known that the calendar often includes pictures of women, Brian Adams admits that he did not want to miss the opportunity to “include some men” as equals.

In the case of 74-year-old musician Iggy Pop, the photographer insisted that it be covered in silver paint in order to recreate the moment of celebration the artists had when they left the stage at the end of the show. Brian Adams adds that the musician accepted the idea “soon” and received a standing ovation from the art team. Also in this year’s edition, we’ll have the chance to see Cher writing in lipstick on a mirror and Rita Ora in the bathtub.

the artist Although his biggest hits have been in a musical context—like the songs of Summer of ’69 or (whatever I do) I from It for You—Bryan Adams has already seen his photographic work featured in major publications such as Vogue, Vanity Fair, GQ or Harper’s Bazaar .

In addition, the artist, who lived as a teenager in Cascais, has also seen his work exhibited in many museums and art galleries around the world, such as Saatchi Gallery and National Portrait Gallery in London, Haus der kunst in Munich and Fotografiska in Stockholm are an example.

American Women (2004), Exposed (2012), Wounded: The Legacy of War (2014), and Homeless (2019) are still among the titles he has published showing his work. We can see where from the pictures to the pictures of the wounded veterans. We can then say that the word “brilliance” is one of the many words that characterize the artist.

In his autobiography, Brian Adams already has portraits of Amy Winehouse, Sir Mick Jagger and Queen Elizabeth II.

Calendar Until 2010, Pirelli bet heavily on calendars that the eyes of famous paparazzi make with supermodels in general. However, incremental change has become notorious and for Adams it is currently “more interesting”.

In 2016, Annie Leibovitz left supermodels behind and chose women who have distinguished themselves in different fields, such as film and sports, to star in a calendar with a less sensual, more intimate character.

That year, the calendar included, among others, actress Amy Schumer, tennis player Serena Williams, and singer and activist Yoko Ono Lennon.

Two years later, photographer Tim Walker chose to honor the popular movie Alice in Wonderland by making a production in which he chose only black models. Actress Whoopi Goldberg has brought the Duchess back to life, RuPaul the Queen of Hearts, Ducky Thoth the Alice, and duo Naomi Campbell and Sean “Diddy” Combs the royal captain (which is like saying “royal head cutter”).

The last known release was the 2020 edition, in which photographer Paolo Roversi chose to move on to “Looking for Juliet”. This was the logo placed in front of the lens by Emma Watson, Claire Foy, Mia Goth, Rosalia, India Moore, Kristen Stewart, Kris Lee, Stella Rovers and Yara Shahidi, in a production that took place between Paris and Verona.

However, it appears that the photographer did not reach his ultimate goal and continued the search after saying in a press release that this was “a search of a lifetime because in the end Juliet is just a dream.”

The 2022 edition isn’t available yet, but some behind-the-scenes images were released this week, sparking the curiosity of even the most attentive.