The British Government imposed a £1.00 tax on all licence fees between 1957 and 1964. In current times some people describe the TV licence as a tax …. but this really was! Here’s an example of a licence issue in 1961 .. as you can see it is “taxed” at a rate of 33% !

The radio world in the UK was set for change in the 1960s .. with the pirate radio ships forcing a rethink in what the BBC would offer to its listeners. There were more radio stations than ever to listen to … but TV was increasing its hold on the audience. You still needed a licence to listen to the radio .. but if you had a TV you bought a combined licence.

Many people still only had a radio set in the 1960s and for them radio licences were still issued. On the back is a warning that “As soon as a television set is installed ….” the radio licence had to be upgraded to a TV licence.

Equally, more and more cars were having radio sets installed and you required a separate licence for this. Here is a 1966 radio only licence for a car .. there are other examples and more information in the “car radio” section.