Defying age and expectations alike, the elderly DJ collective 'Forever Fresh' proves that the dance floor has no expiry date in Germany.

With all its members over 60 years old and now returning to the Cologne music festival 'c/o pop' for the second time, the women DJs took to the stage and played sets ranging from Disco to Pop and Rock.

Ninety-year-old Irmgard Schloesser or "Miss Crazy Irma" is the oldest and when she signed up for the gig she thought it was a sit-down job. "We actually have to stand. I had originally thought it would be done sitting down, you know”, she told Reuters on Friday (April 17) in Cologne.

The elderly-led rave first began in 2025 when the festival organisers were looking for older women to take part in a DJ workshop. But it has since attracted a mix of both young and senior audience to the event.

Uschi Opher, or "DJ Timeless", 64 years old, recalled the first time she stood at the turntables in 2025.

“It was really exciting — because we thought only our families and our friends would come, not the young people. But the younger people were really amazing. Really, really great."

When Edeltraut Stecher-Breckner, 72, stage name "DJ Edition", read the festival ad, she knew she had to apply. “I’ve been waiting for this. Even though I didn’t know I’d been waiting for it. I thought, this is exactly what I still want to do now."

Forever Fresh said their success has since grown so much that they are booked for other events as well.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

COLOGNE, GERMANY (APRIL 17, 2026) (REUTERS - Music Not Cleared for Use. Please Check with the Applicable Collecting Society or Relevant Rights Holders in Your Territory Regarding Clearance of Any Sound Recordings)

1. VARIOUS OF 72-YEAR-OLD EDELTRAUT STECHER-BRECKNER "DJ EDITION" PLAYING HER SET

2. TWO ELDERLY WOMEN SITTING IN AUDIENCE

3. HANDS OF ELDERLY WOMAN CLAPPING AND WAVING

4. 90-YEAR-OLD IRMGARD SCHLOESSER, NAMED DJ MISS CRAZY IRMA, PLAYING HER SONG

5. PEOPLE DANCING

6. VARIOUS OF DJ SET OF IRMGARD SCHLOESSER WITH PEOPLE DANCING

7. VARIOUS OF DJS ARRIVING BACKSTAGE BEFORE GIG, GETTING READY AND GREETING EACH OTHER

8. SCHLOESSER PUTTING ON LIPSTICK

9. SOUNDBITE (German) 90-YEAR-OLD IRMGARD SCHLOESSER, DJ MISS CRAZY IRMA, SAYING "

"And that was my time, from the 80s to the 90s — I was right in the middle of it, you know. And that’s always been my thing, also (the song) Life is Life. But we’re not doing that today, I’ve only got one song today. Yeah, I didn’t even really want to do it, actually. I didn’t really want to come at all (today). And then they were begging — but we were ten women, and now we still have to be ten women. I said, well, you have me now as a figurehead."

10. DJS BACKSTAGE

11. SOUNDBITE (German) 64-YEAR-OLD USCHI OPHER, DJ TIMELESS, SAYING:

"The first time was a burner. It was really exciting because we thought only our families and our friends would come, not the young people. But the younger people were really amazing. Really, really great."

12. DJS BACKSTAGE

13. SOUNDBITE (German) 90-YEAR-OLD IRMGARD SCHLOWSSER, DJ MISS CRAZY IRMA, SAYING:

"Then it said in the newspaper that they were looking for people — women, over 70. Yeah, that’s a nice job, you can do that, I really like music anyway. I’ve also already written songs, carnival songs. And then I thought, that’s a nice job — just sitting. But that was something I didn’t know yet. We actually have to stand during it. I had originally thought it would be done sitting down. Well, now I am part of it and I am still in it. I don’t do things halfway, you know."

14. SOUNDBITE (German) 72-YEAR-OLD EDELTRAUT STECHER-BRECKNER, DJ EDITION, SAYING:

"When I read that, I thought, wow — I’ve been waiting for this. Even though I didn’t know I’d been waiting for it. I thought, this is exactly what I still want to do. Absolutely. Yes, I applied immediately, and I got in."

15. DJS BACKSTAGE