Spanky’s 18th Anniversary Party Starts the Fun at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Holiday Be Damned!

February 7, 2025

Spanky’s 18th Anniversary Party doesn’t care bars close at midnight Tuesday for Macha Bucha Day.

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The Nana Plaza bar is throwing tradition out the window for the Spanky’s 18th Anniversary Party, planning its biggest party of the year on a night when they must close the doors three hours earlier than normal due to police banning alcohol sales from midnight Tuesday to midnight Wednesday for the Buddhist holiday.

To make up for the fewer early morning hours, Spanky’s will open for the Spanky’s 18th Anniversary Party at 6 p.m. on Dec. 11, although how many people – including the girls – will show up 90 minutes early is anyone’s guess.

It’s a bold move considering most bars write off the night before a Buddhist holiday and – like Tycoon, Mandarin, Red Dragon and Shark – will hold big parties the day after the holiday, hoping to cash in on pent-up demand. In this case, Feb. 13 is the monthly Full Moon Party at all four bars and Friday is Valentine’s Day, so the party will combine the two events.

But Spanky’s boss Marc, who has been around for 16 of the 18 years, says 11 is a lucky number for him, so there’s no way he’s changing the date for the Spanky’s 18th Anniversary Party.

Spanky’s 18th Anniversary Mystery Number Game

Like Billboard Bangkok in Nana Plaza – which celebrated its ninth anniversary in September even though Billboard actually opened in 2012 – Spanky’s actual birthday year is up for debate. If recent history was followed – the Dave the Rave archives have anniversary party stories from 2017 (8^th), 2019 (10^th) and 2020 (11^th) – then 2025 should be the 16^th anniversary, not the Spanky’s 18th Anniversary Party.

Sixteen years would mark Spanky’s start in 2009, when Marc purchased the bar from Soi Cowboy Jeff, better known as “The Arab”, the moniker pinned on him by late blogger BaronBonk and popularized by Stickman Bangkok.

The current Spanky’s 18th Anniversary Party chronology dates back to 2007, when Spankys – no apostrophe – took over the next door that was the Hog’s Breath Saloon and upgraded its signage to the neon you see today.

But, in fact, Spanky’s could be celebrating its 22^nd anniversary, as the original original Spankys (no apostrophe) opened in the spot that had been the Three Roses Bar, one of Nana Plaza’s original watering holes. That was a single shophouse bar abutting the current Nana security office, where Spanky’s still stands, although the Hog’s Breath merger doubled the width of the go-go.

Spanky’s Still Going Stronger Than Ever

Sixteen, 18 or 22 years later – take your pick – Spanky’s (with apostrophe) is going stronger than ever. Owner Marc has stepped back and let a couple of young European managers take the reins, infusing it with more energy and appealing to a younger demographic who never heard of Three Roses, Hog’s Breath, Stickman or Dave the Rave for that matter. It’s a generation raised on social media and Spanky’s has created an online image unlike any other go-go bar with artwork that is more than just pretty protraits, but elaborate illustrations that look more 2033 than 2003.

There is still no bar in Nana – perhaps to its smallish size – that has the vibe and intensity that Spanky’s has. The party is always cranked up to 11, even on a night like Tuesday when everything will close at midnight (maybe…)