The first awards show was held in 1953 as the NME Poll Winners Concerts, shortly after the founding of the magazine.

Though the accolades given are entirely genuine, the ceremony itself is usually carried out in a humorous and jovial manner, and have included categories in the past like "Villain of the Year" and "Worst Record".

[1] In 2003, Nick Jago, the drummer of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club gave a "silent" speech lasting 7 minutes, infavourably compared the show to The Source awards, was booed and heckled and had to be physically removed from the stage.

In his speech, lead singer Alex Turner alluded to how the awards reflected who received the most coverage by the magazine; "Who else was going to be Best British Band?

Elsewhere that year, whilst collecting an award for his charity work, Bob Geldof called host Russell Brand a "cunt" to which Brand replied "[It's] no wonder Bob Geldof is such an expert on famine – he's been dining out on 'I Don't Like Mondays' for 30 years.

[4][5] Note: This list only includes winners of major awards (e.g. Best Album, Best British Band, Best Track, etc.)