Flashback to 1986: The 27-year-old wall calendars that you can start using TODAY



Blast from the past: For its 2014 calendar, Pirelli released an unpublished set of photos by Helmut Newton, intended for the year 1986

You could be forgiven for having consigned it to the rubbish bin a decade or two ago.

But if you do still happen to have a 1986 calendar lying around, you’re in luck. Because while the vintage pictures may seem a little out of date, the dates themselves will match up perfectly with the year ahead.

The dates of 1986 are exactly aligned with the dates of 2014 – so anyone who does discover a dusty 27-year-old calendar in the cupboard will find it is a perfect fit all over again.

And the overlap has provided inspiration for calendar makers, who have started reprinting photos from the 1980s in celebration of the event.

Instead of shooting a new calendar for this year, bosses at Pirelli decided to release an unpublished set of pictures by prolific fashion photographer Helmut Newton, intended for the year 1986.

The idea has also caught the imagination of plenty of internet users, with 1986 calendars popping up for sale on websites such as eBay.

One Baywatch-inspired swimsuit calendar from the 80s changed hands for almost $50 (£30), while a wrestling one featuring Hulk Hogan was listed for $21.95 (£13.25) and a limited edition Steiff Teddy Bear Collection calendar was up for grabs priced at $20 (£12).

Last night more than 300 other calendars from 1986 were listed for sale as more people rushed to get in on the craze – or perhaps just clear out their cupboards.

But while the matching of dates across years seems unusual, it actually is not that rare an occurrence.

Calendars from 1997 and 2003 will also prove a perfect fit with this year’s dates.

Eat your heart out Baywatch! BidStart is listing an unused 1986 swimsuit calendar - the like of which was beloved of many a teenage boy - for $49.99 And if you’re the type to plan ahead, 2014 calendars will work for 2025 – which may come as some comfort to fans of Sir Cliff Richard, who last month announced that his 2014 calendar would be his last. Sir Cliff is believed to have sold more than 1.5million calendars over his career and regularly features in the top ten lists, but says they have become too much ‘pressure’ as he gets older. The 2014 calendar shows the 73-year-old wearing cowboy boots perched on the bonnet of a car and walking down railway tracks with a guitar on his back. Kylie Minogue, Robbie Williams and Gary Barlow all also feature in Amazon’s top ten best-selling calendars for 2014.

Hulk value: A 1986 WWF calendar has a starting bid on eBay of $21.95. However bidders should be aware that they will have to face the sight of 'Andre the Giant' on the next page for the whole of January

Dated: This 1986 calendar was produced by Brown & Bigelow and features the adorably plump pin-up girl, Hilda. It is currently on sale on eBay for $21.99

Bear essentials: A limited-edition Steiff Teddy Bear calendar is still in its plastic wrapping at Rubylane.com



Collectible: A 1986 Norman Rockwell calendar on eBay for a $4.99 starting bid boasts 'frameable poster pictures. The seller says it is 'not overly used or written in'

A calendar with pop: A vintage 1986 Coca Cola calendar featuring the soda giant's 100th year anniversary logo is being sold for just $8.08 in an Etsy seller's year-end clearance sale

Questionable taste: According to its eBay seller, this $17.99 Trivial Pursuit Silver Screen calendar came from 'a lady who attended lots of plays in Dallas, San Francisco, LA and NY during the 1940s through to the 1970s'

State of mind: The Texas Sesquicentennial 1986 calendar features 12 Robert C Henderson photos taken within the state. It is listed on eBay for $16.95



Wild horses... Charles M Russell's Scenes of the Old West calendar is on eBay for $12.99

