We are happy to the announce that this year’s fantastic concert Hot August Night, will still take place, on the new date of Sunday 27th September.

Due to the current pandemic we have been working hard behind the scenes to make sure this event still takes place. It will now be an afternoon event due to the change in season.

What’s more is Bulsara and His Queenies (Queen Tribute) are back by popular demand!!! More acts and details to be follow.

Tickets go on sale 1st August! We looking forward to seeing you in September!

by Peter Scherer

There has been success as both a player and a manager for Mark Robins.

A Manchester United youth product, Robins was the second highest United scorer behind Mark Hughes in his first season of 1989/90. He was part of the FA Cup Final winning squad too, having scored the winning semi-final replay goal against Oldham Athletic, although he didn’t get to play at Wembley.

It was expected that he would become a regular in the team and collected medals from the Charity Shield, European Cup Winners Cup and Super Cup.

But in 1991/92 he hardly got a game and his record of 11 goals in 48 games came to an end with an £800,000 move to Premiership rivals Norwich City.

He scored two goals on his league debut for the Canaries and helped them to third in the league and a place in the UEFA Cup. They went on to beat Bayern Munich.

The following season was interrupted by serious injury and a combination of a slump in the clubs success led to another move to Leicester City, after 68 games and 20 goals.

He wasn’t able to stop Leicester’s relegation in 195/96, but helped get them promoted back to Premiership the following year. There was another medal too as League Cup winners 96/97, but he was also loaned out to Copenhagen and Reading.

He had a spell in Spain with Ourense and Greece with Panionis, before a brief spell at Manchester City, was once again injury interrupted.

Having come back to the UK to join Walsall, he had one season before joining Rotherham United. He scored two on his debut and 26 in his first season for the Millers.

After a short loan at Bristol City he joined Sheffield Wednesday for one year, again scoring twice on his debut. His final stop was Burton Albion, then a Conference side, retiring from playing at the end of the 2004/05 season.

His managerial career started back at Rotherham, where he went from assistant to caretaker to permanent manager for 2 ½ years, before moving to Barnsley. He had 18 months at Oakwell before taking up his first stint at Coventry City in September 2012.

It was only a short stay before he moved on to Huddersfield Town and Scunthorpe United, before making his return to Coventry in March 2017.

He took the Sky Blues to victory twice at Wembley, in the EFL Trophy 2016/17 and Play-offs 2017/18 and were top of League One when the current season was stopped.

Internationally he made the England under 21 side with seven goals from six games during his time at Old Trafford, but never made the full England squad.

by Peter Scherer

A prolific goalscorer with a number of clubs, Don Goodman started his career at Bradford City in 1984, having signed from a Yorkshire amateur club. He made his league debut aged 17 while still working as an electrician.

After signing professional that summer he went on to play 70 times and scored 14 goals, gaining promotion with the Bantams at Third Division champions in 1985.

He joined Second Division West Bromwich Albion in1987 for £54,000 and had four years at the Hawthorns. His amazing record of 60 goals in 158 games brought him to the attention of Sunderland, and he became their record signing in 1991 at £977,000.

Having joined part way through the season he was cup tied and missed out on Sunderland’s 1992 Cup Final victory, but had his first taste of First Division football and rose to the occasion.

His next moved was to Wolves for £1.19 million in 1994. Initially it was back to the Second Division until Wolves were promoted at the end of the 1996/97 season.

He racked up 33 more goals in his 125 appearances, but then moved to Japanese club Sanfrecce Hiroshima.

Loan spells at Barnsley and Motherwell followed, before making a permanent move to the Scottish club in 1999. He had two seasons with them, played 47 times and scored eight goals, before a season at Walsall where he helped them gain promotion via the play-offs, a short stay at Exeter City, a loan at Doncaster Rovers and finally three years at Stafford Rangers brought his career to a close at the age of 40.

He can now be seen on TV as a Sky Sports pundit.

by Peter Scherer

You have to go back to the era of Rams manager Harry Storer to find the beginning of Mick Hopkinson’s Derby County career.

He was signed from West End Boys Juniors and became professional aged 17 in 1959. Primarily a full back but he could play elsewhere, and became a regular after Tim Ward had become manager.

When Brian Clough and Peter Taylor arrived for the 67/68 season, Hopkinson held his place initially, but left at the end of the year after nine years, 131 appearances and six gals.

He moved a few miles north to join Mansfield Town for £5,500 and had a couple of seasons at Field Mill, scoring one goal for the Third Division side from his 56 appearances.

Next stop was Port Vale, again in the Third Division, but after only one season he was released in 1971 after 15 games.

He went on to play for Boston United and Belper Town, becoming coach and manager at Belper, before joining Burton Albion where he had a spell as coach and assistant manager.

by Peter Scherer

It’s impossible to count the number of honours gained by John Mcgovern on one hand, but although Scottish born it all began at Hartlepool.

McGovern signed for Hartlepool as a 16 year old to come under the guidance of the up and coming managerial partnership of Brian Clough and Peter Taylor.

He was initially a winger but was converted to midfield, and had almost three years at the Victoria Ground. He was part of their promotion winning team in 1967/68, but when Clough and Taylor moved on, McGovern soon followed, after 76 appearances and seven goals.

Still only 18, he had to work to get into the Derby County first team, but was he made it he became a regular.

At the end of the 68/69 season he was promoted with the Rams to Division One and had made the record of playing in all four divisions of the football league by the age of 19.

During his stay at the Baseball Ground he saw the Division One title claimed in 71/72 an also reached the semi-finals of the League and European Cups.

But after six years 239 games and 21 goals, Clough and Taylor had moved on and when they were engaged by Leeds United, McGovern joined them in 1974.

It was a disaster for all concerned at Elland Road, but when Clough became the new Nottingham Forest manager, McGovern was quick to rejoin him.

He had eight years at the City Ground and was steam captain through their mist successful period in the clubs history.

He won another Division One league title, the League Cup, Charity Shield and two European Cup’s. But in 1982 he decided to move on with 334 games under his belt and 11 goals.

It was his first forray into management as player manager at Bolton Wanders. He made 16 playing appearances but stayed on as manager for 2  ½ years, before a final fling at playing with Horwich RMI.

After a spell as assistant manager at Chorley and Plymouth Argyle, he was joint manager at Rotherham United with Archie Gemmill for a while, winning the Football League Trophy.

He managed Woking, was assistant at Hull City and finally managed Ilkeston Town, before becoming a Nottingham Forest ambassador, local radio pundit and after dinner speaker.

Despite his success, Scotland failed to recognise his attributes and only capped him twice at under 23 level.

by Peter Scherer

Ask someone to name a Derby County legend and they will probably say “Kevin Hector”.

He started his career as an 18 year with Bradford Park Avenue, as part of a formidable strike force with Bobby Ham. Rams manager Tim Ward was alleged to have gone to view Ham, but was impressed by Hector enough to sign him for a then record £40,000 fee in 1966.

During his time at Bradford he had scored 113 goals in 176 games, but became an instant success and fans favourite on his arrival at the Baseball Ground.

He was a Rams player for eight years, totalling well over 400 appearances well over 150 league goals. Despite not being the biggest of players, he was a prolific striker, with pace and agility.

He was part of Brian Clough and Peter Taylor’s team that won the 1968/69 Division 2 title and 1971/72 Division title, plus repeating the Division 1 success three years later under Dave Mackay.

As well reaching the semi-finals of the FA Cup, European Cup and League Cup, he was the Rams player of the year in 72/73.

Among his goal scoring feats were six hattricks and an individual five goal spree against Finn Harps in the 1976 UEFA Cup.

He eventually was sold by Tommy Docherty to Vancouver Whitecaps, where he was an NASL title winner. But his off-season was spent back in England with loans at Boston United and Burton Albion.

Colin Addison then brought him back to Derby in 1980, adding another 56 games and eight goals to his tally over his two years back at the Baseball Ground.

After leaving Derby he played for Shepshed Charterhouse, Gresley Rovers, Belper Town, Eastwood Town, Heanor Town and finally Shardlow St James, before retiring at the age of 50.

His international career should have been far more than two token appearances, his 83^rd minute debut for England against Poland in 1993 almost kept in the World Cup qualifier.

He has made the made the most appearances for the Rams at 581/8 and is second in the all-time scorers, behind Steve Bloomer with 201.

by Peter Scherer

An accomplished international striker, Darren Bent came to Derby County fairly late in his career.

He was spotted by Ipswich Town in 1998 playing for Godmanchester Rovers, and signed professional at Portman Road in 2001, making his first team debut the same year in the UEFA Cup.

During his first season he made five Premiership starts and scored one goal, but the team were relegated to the First Division.

He was a first choice for the next three seasons and a top scorer, which brought him to the attention of Premiership Charlton Athletic.

A £2 ½ million move proved to be an instant success, as Bent scored twice on his debut. He stayed for two seasons and even though he netted 37 goals from his 79 games, it wasn’t enough to save Charlton from relegation.

For 2007/8 he was back in the Premiership though with Tottenham Hotspur. His two seasons at White Hart Lane saw another 17 goals from his 79 games, but there was stiff competition for places.

He continued to play his football in the Premiership, with two seasons at Sunderland, before joining Aston Villa for £18 million in 2011. At Sunderland he also scored on his debut and was player of the year. While at Villa he once again had a debut goal and was team captain for a while.

There were loan spells at Fulham, Brighton and Derby, before Villa released him at the end of 2014/15 after 72 games and 25 goals.

During his loan spell at Derby he scored 12 goals in 17 games, so the Rams decided to take sign him permanently. It was a difficult time for the Rams, with various managerial changes.

But Bent stayed on into a third season, making 84 appearances, with 28 goals, before going out on loan to Burton Albion and being released at Derby at the end of 2017/18. He retired at the end of that season.

He played for England at every level up to gaining his first full cap in 2006. From his 13 full England games he scored four times.

by Peter Scherer

Derby born bred Wayne Sutton joined Derby County to serve his apprenticeship and turn professional in 1992.

He made his debut in the 1995/96 promotion year, but wasn’t a regular member of the squad.

To gain more experience he went to Herford United on loan, but only played seven games in total and was then released by Jim Smith on his Rams return, having only made five starts and three appearances as a sub.

He joined Woking in 1997 and has a couple of games there, before joining Burton Albion a year later and then Hinckley United in 1999.

Having already listed Derby County and Burton Albion as his former clubs, he is more than qualified to play in the NHS Allstars game, as his final years of playing semi pro football was at Station Road, with Mickleover Sports, having joined in 2000.