69-year-old Ruth Flowers is a living example that age shouldn't get in the way of things you're passionate about. Like 83-year-old Bette Calman, the Yoga super-granny, Ruth does extraordinary things, for her age.

69歲的露絲．傅勞爾斯是個活生生的例子，證明年齡不應妨礙你追逐自己熱愛的興趣，一如83歲的奶奶級瑜伽超級巨星貝蒂‧卡曼。以露絲的年紀，她的表現令人刮目相看。

Known as “Mammy Rock”, around the European club scene, Ruth Flowers is probably the oldest professional DJ in the world. The British granny wears bling-bling headphones, trendy clothes and sports an electrifying hair-do as she works the turntables in popular clubs, in France.

紅遍歐洲秀場，人稱「搖滾媽咪」的露絲．傅勞爾斯，可能是全世界年紀最大的專業DJ。這位英國老阿嬤頭戴金光閃閃的嘻哈耳機，身穿最新潮的服飾，並留著一頭勁爆的髮型，在法國人氣最旺的夜店耍唱盤，玩得不亦樂乎。

Mammy Rock's career began when she was 65. Her grandson was celebrating his birthday in a London nightclub, and asked Ruth to join him and his friends. There were a few problems with the bouncers, who didn't feel right letting a senior citizen inside such an establishment, but as soon as she stepped in, Mammy Rock was bewitched by the lively atmosphere that made her feel so much younger.

「搖滾媽咪」的職業生涯始於65歲那年。她孫子在倫敦一家夜店慶生，要求露絲也來加入他和他那群朋友。結果她和夜店警衛還起了點衝突，他們不放心讓一個老人家出入這種地方，但當她一走進去，「搖滾媽咪」立刻被現場high翻天的熱鬧氣氛「電到」，因為那使她覺得返老還童。

She talked to her grandson about becoming a DJ herself, and although he thought she was mad, he agreed to introduce her to a young music producer. After learning the basics of electro music, Mammy Rock developed her very own style, and one of today's most in-demand DJs.

她告訴孫子，她很想成為DJ。雖然孫子認為她一定瘋了，但同意幫她介紹給一位個年輕的音樂製作人。在學習基本的電子音樂後，「搖滾媽咪」發展出她自己的風格，如今竟然成為人氣破表、最炙手可熱的DJ之一。

Ruth had had a pretty interesting youth, going to balls all the time, but with the coming of old age, she became bored out of her mind. She says she'd much rather “sign a contract with a record company than to sign up for the nursing home.” Clad in her leopard-skin shrug and dark sunglasses, Ruth has conquered French clubland from the Cannes Film Festival to the top Paris nightspots with a mix of old-school hits, electrobeat and bling-bling style.

露絲年輕時日子過得多采多姿，她常去參加舞會，如今年紀大了，她覺得心如止水的生活無聊透頂。她說，她寧可「和唱片公司簽約，也不想住進養老院。」外罩豹紋小可愛，戴著一副墨鏡，露絲混搭流行老歌、電音打擊樂和嘻哈風格，早已征服法國秀場，從坎城影展到巴黎最上流的夜總會都包括在內。

While Flowers, a trained singer, was more used to church songs, German lieder and classic pop, she still remembered she was so taken by her grandson's party that she decided there and then to become a disc jockey. “I had no idea at the time of electro music,” she said.

雖然傅勞爾斯是個曾受過專業訓練的歌手，但過去她較常聽教堂聖歌、德文藝術歌曲和經典流行音樂。她還記得當時被孫子的派對深深吸引，當場立刻決定要成為DJ。她說：「當時，我還不知道什麼叫電子音樂。」

However, as someone with interests ranging from history to theater and fashion, she was willing to learn. Her grandson put her in touch with French producer Aurelien Simon who taught her how to spin and helped her to develop a style, sprinkling her techno sets with tunes from Abba, Queen and the Rolling Stones.“In the beginning it was just a little joke but it became serious,” Simon told Reuters by phone. “It took four years because she had to learn to use the machines. I explained the basics of electro music, and then she created her own style.”

但由於她個人興趣廣泛，從歷史到劇場到時裝都有所涉獵，學習意願很高。孫子介紹她認識法國音樂製片人西蒙，他教她如何放唱片，幫助她發展出一套風格，在她的電音音樂上點綴一些阿巴合唱團、皇后合唱團及滾石樂團的音樂。「一開始只是有點好玩，但愈玩愈認真，」西蒙接受路透電話專訪時說。「前後總共花了四年，因為她必須學會怎麼操作這些機器。我告訴她什麼是電音音樂的基本元素，她就走出自己的風格來。」

Eye-catching earrings and her sartorial style make Flowers a stand out when she works the turntables, nodding to the beat and clapping her hands above her head. “It's a little glammy, a bit over the top, but it fits the bill I think,” she said of her outfits. “I mean, if I appeared in a cardigan, a sweater and brogue shoes it wouldn't be quite the same.”

超吸睛的耳環和時尚風格，使傅勞爾斯不管在轉動唱盤時，不斷跟著節拍點頭，甚至高舉雙手在頭上打拍子時，都非常引人注目。「這的確有點華而不實，有點太超過，但我認為和我很速配。」她談起自己的裝扮。「我的意思是，如果我穿著羊毛衫、毛衣和粗革皮鞋出現，效果恐怕要大打折扣。」

With an electro-rock EP, Mamy Rock, on the horizon and more offers to play famous clubs throughout the world; she has no desire to slow down just yet. “I've got no intention of retiring,” she says. “Well, unless I drop dead. And I'd much rather go out with a bang than linger.” Some of her friends in London were a little skeptical about her new career at first, but she has drawn encouragement from her family and fans. She plays down the fame of her twilight years. “I'm not a superstar DJ,” she says. “I'm just a DJ. ”

傅勞爾斯正要準備出一張電音搖滾EP，就叫「媽咪搖滾」，而且世界各地愈來愈多知名夜總會競相邀她去一展身手，因此她一時還不會放慢腳步。她說：「我還不想隱退。當然，除非我突然猝死，否則我寧可出去搖滾，也不要一息奄奄、苟延殘喘。」一開始，她倫敦那些好友還有點懷疑她的新行業，但她已贏得家人和粉絲熱情相挺。她淡化自己在遲暮之年突享盛名，說：「我不是什麼DJ超級巨星，我只是普通的DJ。」

There are few complaints on the dance floor where Flowers receives intense, and somewhat bizarre, adulation from the assembled sweaty Parisian youth. “Mamy Rock! Mamy Rock!” shouts Pauline Robert, a 23-year-old student, over the relentless thud of the music. “We adore Mamy Rock. She loves to make us dance. We all want her as our grandmother.” For Alex Ledys, 21, the appeal lies in her originality. “It's so cool, I've never seen a DJ that old before,” he says. “Music brings together all generations.”

舞場裡很少有人抱怨，相反地，傅勞爾斯得到巴黎年輕人狂熱、甚至有點幾近瘋狂的崇拜。「媽咪搖滾！媽咪搖滾！」23歲的學生波琳．羅伯特，在震耳欲聾的音樂撞擊中狂吼。「我們崇拜媽咪搖滾，她喜歡我們多跳跳舞，我們都希望她當我們的阿嬤。」21歲的雷迪斯則認為，她最吸引人的是她的創意。「實在酷斃了，我從沒看過年紀這麼大的DJ！音樂可以拉近所有不同的世代。」

After playing at the Cannes Film Festival, Flowers's popularity has snowballed. “I can't believe the reaction I have got so far. People seem to adore me, they say they want to be like me, when they should just try and be like themselves,” she says, suddenly sounding like the grandmother she is.

自從在坎城影展露一手之後，傅勞爾斯的人氣如滾雪球般更旺。她說：「我實在不敢相信迄今所得到的這一切回響。大家似乎很喜歡我，他們說，他們希望跟我一樣，其實，他們應該努力嘗試扮演好自己的角色。」聽起來突然像老奶奶的叮嚀了。

Flowers worked as a singer and singing teacher in Portugal for 14 years, and returned to Britain after the death of her husband. She has little time for those who think she should grow old gracefully. “I think you have to accept the challenges that come your way.” Photo shows British DJ Ruth Flowers mixing music at a recording studio in Paris.

傅勞爾斯曾在葡萄牙擔任歌手及教聲樂14年，丈夫去世後回英國。對那些認為她應該優雅一點看著老華老年的人，她無暇顧及：「我認為，你必須接受迎面而來的任何挑戰。」

上圖為英國籍的DJ露絲．傅勞爾斯正在巴黎一間錄音室忙著混搭不同的音樂。（路透）