Heaven can wait for Japan's geriatric pop queens

Kohama

 They joke about knocking on heaven's door, but a Japanese 'girl band' with an average age of 84 have struck a blow for grannies everywhere by becoming pop idols.

 Hailing from the remote, coral-fringed island of Kohama in Okinawa, KBG84 - a play on the name of saccharine teeny boppers AKB48 - admit to being slightly bemused by their success after cutting their first disc and completing a sellout Japan tour.

 "When I first heard someone call us 'idols' I thought an idol meant someone who had lived a long life and was at the gates of heaven," pint-sized diva Tomi Menaka, 92, said.

 "But in Tokyo they told me it was an entertainer, which was a relief because I thought it meant I was on my way to heaven," she added, picking up steam as her fellow group members collapsed in fits of giggles. "I hadn't even been to Tokyo or Osaka. I wanted to go there before I went to heaven."

 The 33-strong troupe of singers and dancers has released a single called "Come on and Dance, Kohama Island", with a heart-warming video shot on the tiny honeymoon isle, which has a population of just 600 and lies a mere 150 miles (240 kilometres) off Taiwan.

 Normally hunched over a walking stick, Menaka tosses her cane aside like a bona fide rock star when she's on stage, dancing with joyous abandon to the pling-plang of traditional Okinawan string music given a Tokyo-style pop makeover.

 "I've never been as happy as I am when we perform," she said, wearing a stripy kimono and flame-red headscarf, her gold teeth glistening in the midday sun.

 "Going to Tokyo for the first time, I thought I was so lucky to be born. I got to meet my grandchildren. I'll never forget it. I was moved to tears."