When Neon Signs Crashed The Wireless

When Radio Met Neon in Parliament

On paper it reads like satire: while Europe braced for Hitler’s advance, MPs in Westminster were arguing about neon signs.

Mr. Gallacher, an MP with a sharp tongue, rose to challenge the government. Was Britain’s brand-new glow tech ruining the nation’s favourite pastime – radio?

The answer was astonishing for the time: around a thousand complaints in 1938 alone.

Think about it: listeners straining to catch news bulletins, drowned out by the hum of glowing adverts on the high street.

Major Tryon confessed the problem was real. The difficulty?: there was no law compelling interference suppression.

He said legislation was being explored, but warned the issue touched too many interests.

In plain English: no fix any time soon.

Gallacher shot back. He pushed for urgency: speed it up, Minister, people want results.

Mr. Poole piled in too. What about the Central Electricity Board and their high-tension cables?

The Postmaster-General ducked the blow, saying yes, cables were part of the mess, which only complicated things further.

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Seen through modern eyes, it’s heritage comedy with a lesson. In 1939 neon was the villain of the airwaves.

Eighty years on, the irony bites: the once-feared glow is now the heritage art form begging for protection.

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What does it tell us?

Neon has never been neutral. It’s always forced society to decide what kind of light it wants.

In truth, it’s been art all along.

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Our take at Smithers. We see the glow that wouldn’t be ignored.

Call it quaint, call it heritage, but it’s a reminder. And it still does.

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Ignore the buzzwords of "LED Neon Signs London neon". Glass and gas are the original and the best.

If neon could jam the nation’s radios in 1939, it can sure as hell light your lounge, office, or storefront in 2025.

Choose glow.

You need it.

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