Synopsis

Soft Cell perform "Sex Dwarf" amid a deliberately lurid nightmare of fetish costumes, chainsaws, raw meat, blood, and cabaret-style excess. Marc Almond appears in a tiny codpiece while the performers around him create an atmosphere of theatrical menace and sexual provocation. The surreal imagery escalates into a chaotic performance that mirrors the song's fascination with London's underground nightlife, vice, bondage, and tabloid sensationalism. Rather than following a conventional narrative, the video plays as an unruly piece of shock theater.

Factoids & Trivia

• The video was filmed in 1981 and released in 1982 as part of *Non-Stop Exotic Video Show*, a companion video collection for *Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret*.

• The cast reportedly included real-life prostitutes from Soho, their pimp, a performer with dwarfism, and a trainee doctor wearing leather trousers.

• During filming, live maggots were unexpectedly thrown into the scene. The surprise caused some of the prostitutes to flee, contributing to the chaotic atmosphere on set.

• Scotland Yard's Pornography Squad seized the footage after the resulting publicity, but the material was later returned when the authorities concluded that the scandal had been exaggerated.

• The original version became a cult item and remained banned from British television, while a much shorter edited version was prepared for less restrictive use.

• The song's title came from a sensationalist *News of the World* headline, which Marc Almond recalled seeing before Soft Cell adapted it.