Neon Static And The Commons: A 1939 Story
Britain’s Pre-War Glow Problem
It might seem almost comic now: in June 1939, just months before Britain plunged into war, the House of Commons was debating glowing shopfronts.
Mr. Gallacher, an MP with a sharp tongue, rose to challenge the government. How many complaints had rolled in about wireless sets being ruined by neon signage?
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.
The Minister in charge didn’t deny it. But here’s the rub: the government had no legal power to force neon owners to fix it.
He promised consultations were underway, but warned the issue touched too many interests.
Which meant: more static for listeners.
Gallacher pressed harder. He said listeners were getting a raw deal.
Mr. Poole piled in too. What about the Central Electricity Board and their high-tension cables?
The Minister squirmed, neon sign shop London 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.
Eighty years on, the irony bites: the once-feared glow is now the heritage art form begging for protection.
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Why does it matter?
Neon has never been neutral. It’s always pitted artisans against technology.
In truth, it’s been art all along.
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Our take at Smithers. We see proof that Radiance Neon Signs London was powerful enough to shake Britain.
So, yes, old is gold. And it always will.
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Ignore the buzzwords of "LED neon". Real neon has been debated in Parliament for nearly a century.
If neon could shake Westminster before the war, it can certainly shake your walls now.
Choose craft.
We make it.
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