Counting down to your beach escape? These music video clips, all shot in and around Pattaya, will have you raring to go.
Not sure if Pattaya or Miami… Phum Viphurit’s “Lover Boy”
Phum Viphurit – “Lover Boy” (2018)
The summer hit that shot Phum Viphurit to regional fame. In the retro-tinged clip, the lanky, New Zealand-raised singer-songwriter—who Rolling Stone dubbed “Thailand’s first indie-pop star”—can be seen gallivanting along Pattaya’s Beach Road promenade in pursuit of the “one to make me right.” Lover Boy Phum initially struggles to win his sweetheart’s attention, but thanks to an encounter on Walking Street, the guy eventually gets the girl (we think) and all is fine. Apart from all the guitar-strumming and hair-twirling, what stands out in the Jean Khamkwan-directed clip is the stunning cinematography that may have you confusing palm-fringed Pattaya for Miami. Or as one Youtube commenter put it, “This whole music video looks like an Instagram post.”
The Libertines on the lam in “Gunga Din”
The Libertines – “Gunga Din” (2015)
The first new video from British garage rockers The Libertines in 11 years turned the spotlight on Pattaya’s notorious nightlife in all its hazy madness. Looking perhaps a little worse for wear (endless partying can do that), the Likely Lads led by Pete Doherty and Carl Barat are shown swaggering along Walking Street, chugging bottles of beer and generally living their best life. Watch it and you can practically feel the hangover forming, though.
Life’s a beach… Uniq’s “Love Again”
MyName – “Stop the Time” (2015)
Uniq – “Love Again” (2015)
Pattaya has proven a popular shooting destination for Asian pop stars over the past decade or so. While Grade-A superstars Shinee may have opted for the outskirts of Bangkok instead, fellow K-Pop acts MyName and Uniq both dropped clips shot in and around Pattaya.
MyName’s Japanese-language single “Stop the Time” was mostly shot at Sanctuary of Truth, Pattaya’s eye-catching wooden structure said to be the largest of its type in Thailand, while Uniq’s “Love Again” concludes with good times on the white sands and azure seas of Koh Larn, the island paradise that’s a super-easy day trip away from Pattaya.
Walk on the wild side… SKE 48’s “Sansei Kawaii”
SKE 48 - “Sansei Kawaii” (2013) Berry Good - “Because of You” (2015)
But wait, there’s more. Japanese idol group SKE48 (short for Sakae48) headed to Pattaya in their clip for “Sansei Kawaii,” which depicts them partaking in Songkran (Thai New Year) water splashing activities, tower jumping and elephant riding (we’d advise against the latter). A little more low-key is South Korean girl group Berry Good’s clip for the ballad “Because of You,” which mostly sticks to choreographed dance moves on the beach and in the pool, but also shows a few tantalising glimpses of Pattaya city.
A real story to tell… Blaudzun’s “Promises of No Man’s Land”
Blaudzun - "Promises of No Man’s Land" (2014)
Pattaya is not all sun and fun, it must be said. Documentary and fiction blur in this unconventional clip for Dutch singer-songwriter Johannes Sigmond, aka Blaudzun. Directed by Kimmo Films, “Promises of No Man’s Land” is a “day in the life of” type of film pieced together from the firsthand accounts of working Thai prostitutes. In the noir-ish clip, which features only a sneaky guest appearance from the artist himself, we follow Phow, one of the many young women who make up the sex worker profession of Thailand, as she goes about her day-to-day life working in a gogo bar and putting away money for a brighter future. A music video with a very real story to tell.
