Prior to Rock City the building was called The Heart of the Midlands, which hosted variety acts as well as the inaugural World Professional Darts Championship in 1978.

[2] The building was taken over by Sammy Jackson, who already owned a club called the Retford Porterhouse where he had booked bands such as AC/DC and The Clash, along with George Akins Snr., a local bookmaker, who bankrolled the new venture.

[7] As a result, Orange Juice became the first band to play at Rock City on 11 December 1980 supporting The Undertones,[8] who ended the gig with "Teenage Kicks".

[7] Rock City underwent a major refit in 1982 which included a purpose-built sound system, lighting rig and two video screens.

The intimate environment allowed for band members such as Eddie Vedder and Kurt Cobain to sit at the bar with fans after their gigs.

[citation needed] Rock City has remained one of the biggest names on the live circuit for alternative bands and celebrated its 35th anniversary in 2016.

[12][13] Later that evening, as the gig had been cancelled, Lil Pump performed on top of his tour bus at the back of the venue for waiting fans.

During the 2020 Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that hit the UK, Rock City, upon the gradual re-opening of bars, pubs, restaurants and cafes from 4 July in England, which excluded club venues, utilised their outdoor car-parking space to newly establish the Yard Bar in order to engage in commerce while maintaining government guided social distancing measures.