The Year Neon Jammed Britain’s Radios
The Day Westminster Debated Static and Bright Glow London
Looking back, it feels surreal: on the eve of the Second World War, MPs in Westminster were arguing about neon signs.
Gallacher, never one to mince words, stood up and asked the Postmaster-General a peculiar but pressing question. Were neon installations scrambling the airwaves?
The reply turned heads: roughly one thousand cases logged in a single year.
Picture it: ordinary families huddled around a crackling set, desperate for dance music or speeches from the King, only to hear static and buzzing from the local cinema’s neon sign.
Major Tryon confessed the problem was real. But here’s the rub: there was no law compelling interference suppression.
He spoke of a possible new Wireless Telegraphy Bill, neon sign shop London but warned the issue touched too many interests.
Translation? Parliament was stalling.
The MP wasn’t satisfied. He said listeners were getting a raw deal.
Another MP raised the stakes. 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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Looking back now, this debate is almost poetic. Back then, neon was the tech menace keeping people up at night.
Fast forward to today and it’s the opposite story: the menace of 1939 is now the endangered beauty of 2025.
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What does it tell us?
Neon has always been political, cultural, disruptive. From crashing radios to clashing with LED, it’s always been about authenticity vs convenience.
Now it’s dismissed as retro fluff.
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Our take at Smithers. We see the glow that wouldn’t be ignored.
So, yes, old is gold. And it still does.
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Don’t settle for plastic impostors. Real neon has been debated in Parliament for nearly a century.
If neon got MPs shouting in 1939, it deserves a place in your space today.
Choose glow.
Smithers has it.
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