A vinyl LP slipcase containing not a record, but the 2022 Pirelli Calendar. The title is On the Road and the photos are by Bryan Adams – a celebration of international music stars from the 1960s to the present day, as well as the Calendar’s return after the interruption of the Covid-19 crisis. This is a special return because it coincides with the celebration of Pirelli’s 150th anniversary, the logo for which was unveiled at the same time as the Calendar. And the presentation itself is new – a digital event that can be watched by all from 9 p.m. (Central European Time) on November 29 at www.pirelli.com.
For over twenty years, while adding to his vast catalogue of musical successes, Bryan Adams has also established his reputation as a photographer and through the photos of On The Road he has captured the artist’s life on tour. This is also the theme of the song of the same name – “On The Road” – that the Canadian musician has composed for the Calendar and will be included on his next album.
On the Calendar set, the musicians relive moments of life on tour, from the tension before a performance, to the breaks between rehearsals and concerts, through to the long journeys from one city to the next and the solitude of hotel rooms. These are experiences that Bryan Adams himself knows well, and for the first time in the history of the Calendar, the photographer is part of the cast. He is joined in the 48th edition of The Cal™ by ten world-famous artists of different ages, musical genres, and backgrounds: Cher, Grimes, Jennifer Hudson, Normani, Rita Ora, Bohan Phoenix, Iggy Pop, Saweetie, St. Vincent and Kali Uchis. The photos were taken last summer, in just three days, at two locations in Los Angeles – the Palace Theatre and Hollywood’s Chateau Marmont hotel – and at the Scalinatella hotel in Capri.
Bryan Adams sought to capture the distinctive features of the various artists, and the months of the Calendar unfold over more than 160 pages and more than 70 portraits and scenes: from St. Vincent (who also appears on the cover of the volume) waking up at a hotel, to Kali Uchis’ day off by the pool, to Saweetie checking out before another trip, and Cher backstage. And we see Normani resting before sound check and Jennifer Hudson arriving at the theatre, Iggy Pop (who is also on the back cover) before the show, Grimes in the recording studio, Bohan Phoenix back in the hotel post- performance, and Rita Ora after the show.
“It would be very, very hard to encapsulate everything that happens on the road in a couple of days. So what I tried to do was to represent some of the aspects of it… for example, musicians never really see the front of the building, they see the back of the building, we see the stage door, we see the backstage area, we see the basement of a building… you go from the stage door to the car door to the hotel door to the train door to the bus door, so it’s a bunch of doors, but it’s always about travelling…”, explains Bryan Adams.
“I’ve known and appreciated Bryan for years. We thought his idea of coupling the world of music with that of the road and travel would be perfect for a Calendar that is making its comeback as we seek a gradual return to normality after the pandemic. This calendar will mark the months of a year, 2022, that is particularly important for us, for it is the year we celebrate Pirelli’s 150th anniversary”, says Marco Tronchetti Provera, executive vice chairman and CEO of Pirelli.
Pirelli was founded in 1872 and has published 48 editions of the Pirelli Calendar since its launch in 1964 – including On the Road – created by 37 photographers. Behind-the-scenes events, pictures of the shoots, a recording of the presentation, and the stories and personalities of the 2022 Pirelli Calendar can all be found at www.pirellicalendar.com, where you can explore the history of The Cal™ with original videos, interviews, photographs and texts.
For the stories and personalities of the 2022 Pirelli Calendar and the over 50 years of The Cal™ go to www.pirellicalendar.com
