The Year Neon Jammed Britain’s Radios

When Radio Met Neon in Parliament It sounds bizarre today: while Europe braced for Hitler’s advance, MPs in Westminster were arguing about neon signs. Mr. Gallacher, an MP with a sharp tongue, stood up and asked the Postmaster-General a peculiar but pressing question. Were neon installations scrambling the airwaves? The figure was no joke: roughly one thousand cases logged in a single year. Imagine it: ordinary families huddled around a crackling set, desperate for dance music or speeches from the King, only to hear static and where to buy real neon signs buzzing from the local cinema’s neon sign.

Postmaster-General Major Tryon admitted the scale of the headache. But here’s the rub: shopkeepers could volunteer to add suppression devices, high-quality neon lights but they couldn’t be forced. He said legislation was being explored, but admitted consultations would take "some time". In plain English: no fix any time soon. Gallacher shot back. He pushed for urgency: speed it up, Minister, people want results. Mr. Poole piled in too.

Wasn’t the state itself one of the worst offenders? The Postmaster-General ducked the blow, basically admitting the whole electrical age was interfering with itself. --- Seen through modern eyes, it’s heritage comedy with a lesson. In 1939 neon was the villain of the airwaves. Fast forward to today and it’s the opposite story: the menace of 1939 is now the endangered beauty of 2025. --- So what’s the takeaway? Neon has never been neutral.

From crashing radios to clashing with LED, it’s always been about authenticity vs convenience. In truth, it’s been art all along. --- Our take at Smithers. We see proof that neon was powerful enough to shake Britain. So, yes, old is gold. And that’s why we keep bending glass and filling it with gas today. --- Ignore the buzzwords of "LED neon". Authentic glow has history on its side. If neon could shake Westminster before the war, it can certainly shake your walls now.

Choose craft. We make it. ---


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