Marine Disco, which has graced Pattaya’s Walking Street for over 30 years, has finally bitten the dust according to reports by reliable gogo gurus Stickman’s Weekly Column and Dave the Rave. One of the largest music clubs on the strip, Marine Disco (pronounced Mal-ee in Thai) first opened during the 1970s Vietnam war and attracted large numbers of American servicemen on rest and recreation vacations. Some say the original location was in a different Pattaya venue.
Marine Disco’s success continued into the 1990s as Walking Street appealed to newer markets of night owl travellers from Britain, mainland Europe and Australia. Columnist of the era, Bernard Trink, is believed to have coined the phrase “chicken farm” for the disco. But he was apparently describing the naive and hungry foreign customers rather than the smiling ladies on the dance floor or circulating round the seven billiard tables which were an unusual feature of the huge layout.
In more recent years, Marine Disco began to lose popularity. Some said the location at the top of an escalator was a safety concern in case of fire, whilst others commented third gender persons had become too dominant under the flashing lights. But the key factor was likely the classy competition from neighboring clubs which have become more flashy and hi-tech with cream-of-the-crop DJs. The club even ceased to keep its Facebook page up to date.
In the post-Covid environment, the foreign clientele of Walking Street also appears to be changing. In 2023, it appears to appeal mostly to Asian vacationers whilst the traditional customers such as holiday Brits are congregating on Soi Buakhao and Soi L.K.Metro in a different area of the city. The consequences of the awesome pandemic for evening entertainment in Pattaya are still unfolding.
