When Neon Crashed the Airwaves
Looking back, it feels surreal: in the shadow of looming global conflict, MPs in Westminster were arguing about creative neon signs London ideas signs.
the outspoken Mr. Gallacher, stood up and asked the Postmaster-General a peculiar but pressing question. How many complaints had rolled in about wireless sets being ruined by neon signage?
The reply turned heads: around a thousand LED neon signs London complaints in 1938 alone.
Imagine it: the soundtrack of Britain in 1938, interrupted not by enemy bombers but by shopfront glow.
Major Tryon confessed the problem was real. The difficulty?: there was no law compelling interference suppression.
He said legislation was being explored, but stressed that the problem was “complex”.
In plain English: no fix any time soon.
The MP wasn’t satisfied. 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 Minister squirmed, admitting it made the matter “difficult” but offering no real solution.
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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: the menace of 1939 is now the endangered beauty of 2025.
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So what’s the takeaway?
Neon 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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Here’s the kicker. 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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Don’t settle for plastic impostors. Glass and gas are the original and the best.
If neon could shake Westminster before the war, it can certainly shake your walls now.
Choose craft.
We make it.
(Image: https://www.smithersofstamford.com/7363-large_default/neon-mouth-lamp.jpg)—
