Neon Static And The Commons: A 1939 Story

When Neon Crashed the Airwaves

Strange but true: in June 1939, just months before Britain plunged into war, Parliament was wrestling with the problem of neon interfering with radios.

Gallacher, never one to mince words, demanded answers from the Postmaster-General. Were neon installations scrambling the airwaves?

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

Picture it: the soundtrack of Britain in 1938, interrupted not by enemy bombers but by shopfront glow.

The Minister in charge didn’t deny it. The difficulty?: there was no law compelling interference suppression.

He spoke of a possible new Wireless Telegraphy Bill, but warned the issue touched too many interests.

In plain English: no fix any time soon.

Gallacher shot back. People were paying licence fees, he argued, and they deserved a clear signal.

From the backbenches came another jab. What about the Central Electricity Board and neon signs in London their high-tension cables?

The Minister squirmed, basically admitting the whole electrical age was interfering with itself.

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From today’s vantage, it feels rich with irony. Back then, neon was the tech menace keeping people up at night.

Jump ahead eight decades and the roles have flipped: the menace of 1939 is now the endangered beauty of 2025.

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So what’s the takeaway?

London neon signs has always been political, cultural, disruptive. It’s always forced society to decide what kind of light it wants.

In 1939 it was seen as dangerous noise.

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

So, yes, old is gold. And it always will.

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Ignore the buzzwords of "LED neon". Authentic glow has history on its side.

If neon could shake Westminster before the war, it can certainly shake your walls now.

Choose craft.

You need it.

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