When Westminster Complained About Neon Signs
When Radio Met Neon in Parliament
It might seem almost comic now: in June 1939, just months before Britain plunged into war, Parliament was wrestling with the problem of neon interfering with radios.
the outspoken Mr. Gallacher, rose to challenge the government. How many complaints had rolled in about wireless sets being ruined by neon signage?
The figure was no joke: roughly one thousand cases logged in a single year.
Picture it: the soundtrack of Britain in 1938, interrupted not by enemy bombers but by shopfront glow.
Postmaster-General Major Tryon admitted the scale of the headache. The difficulty?: shopkeepers could volunteer to add suppression devices, but they couldn’t be forced.
He spoke of a possible new Wireless Telegraphy Bill, but admitted consultations would take "some time".
Translation? Parliament was stalling.
Gallacher shot back. He pushed for urgency: speed it up, Minister, people want results.
Another MP raised the stakes. If neon was a culprit, weren’t cables buzzing across the land just as guilty?
The Minister squirmed, basically admitting the whole electrical age was interfering with itself.
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Looking back now, this debate is almost poetic. Neon was once painted as the noisy disruptor.
Fast forward to today and it’s the opposite story: neon is the endangered craft fighting for survival, while plastic LED fakes flood the market.
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Why does it matter?
Neon has always been political, cultural, disruptive. From crashing radios to clashing with LED, it’s always been about authenticity vs convenience.
Second: every era misjudges neon.
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Here’s the kicker. We see proof that neon was powerful enough to shake Britain.
Call it quaint, call it heritage, but it’s a reminder. And it still does.
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Forget the fake LED strips. Glass and gas are the original and the best.
If buy neon signs London could shake Westminster before the war, it can certainly shake your walls now.
Choose glow.
Smithers has it.
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