When Neon Signs Crashed The Wireless
When Radio Met Neon in Parliament It might seem almost comic now: in the shadow of looming global conflict, the House of Commons was debating glowing shopfronts. Labour firebrand 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 complaints in 1938 alone. 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.
The Minister in charge didn’t deny it. But here’s the rub: shopkeepers could volunteer to add suppression devices, but they couldn’t be forced. He spoke of a possible new Wireless Telegraphy Bill, but warned the issue touched too many interests. Translation? Parliament was stalling. Gallacher pressed harder. He said listeners were getting a raw deal. From the backbenches came another jab. If neon was a culprit, weren’t cables buzzing across the land just as guilty?
Tryon deflected, saying yes, cables were part of the mess, best real neon signs which only complicated things further. --- From today’s vantage, it feels rich with irony. In 1939 neon was the villain of the airwaves. Eighty years on, the irony bites: the menace of 1939 is now the endangered beauty of 2025. --- So what’s the takeaway? First: neon has always rattled cages. It’s always forced society to decide what kind of light it wants.
Second: every era misjudges neon. --- Our take at Smithers. We see the glow that wouldn’t be ignored. So, yes, old is gold. And it always will. --- Forget the fake LED strips. Authentic glow has history on its side. If neon got MPs shouting in 1939, it deserves a place in your space today. Choose glow. Smithers has it. ---
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