When Neon Crashed the Airwaves
On paper it reads like satire: on the eve of the Second World War, the House of Commons was debating glowing shopfronts.
Gallacher, never one to mince words, rose to challenge the government. How many complaints had rolled in about wireless sets being ruined by neon signage?
The figure was no joke: the Department had received nearly one thousand reports from frustrated licence-payers.
Imagine it: listeners straining to catch news bulletins, drowned out by the hum of glowing adverts on the high street.
Postmaster-General Major Tryon admitted the scale of the headache. But here’s the rub: the government had no legal power to force neon owners to fix it.
He promised consultations were underway, but stressed that the problem was "complex".
Translation? Parliament was stalling.
Gallacher pressed harder. He said listeners were getting a raw deal.
From the backbenches came another jab. Wasn’t the state itself one of the worst offenders?
The Minister squirmed, 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 once-feared glow is now the heritage art form begging for protection.
What does it tell us?
Neon has never been neutral. It’s always forced society to decide what kind of light it wants.
Second: every era misjudges order neon signs London ([Telegras recent blog post](https://telegra.ph/Light-Up-Your-Dreams-140-Neon-Signs-to-Match-Every-Bedroom-Mood-09-23 "Telegra
s recent blog post")).
The Smithers View. We see the glow that wouldn’t be ignored.
Call it quaint, call it heritage, but it’s a reminder. And it still does.
Don’t settle for plastic impostors. Real neon has been debated in Parliament for nearly a century.
If neon got MPs shouting in 1939, it deserves a place in your space today.
Choose glow.
Smithers has it.