Dave Kendall obit

Dave Kendall, Creator and Host of MTV’s 120 Minutes, Has Died

Kendall hosted the influential program from 1989 to 1992

 He was not on the list.

Dave Kendall, creator and former host of MTV’s 120 Minutes, has died.

Fellow MTV alum and former 120 Minutes host Matt Pinfield shared news of Kendall’s passing on Tuesday.

“Dave was one of the true believers. Long before alternative music found its way into the mainstream, he was there every week on 120 Minutes, introducing people to bands that would go on to define an era,” Pinfield wrote in a tribute post. “He didn’t just host a show. He gave a home to music that deserved to be heard.

“He loved the music, respected the artists, and connected with fans in a way that always felt authentic,” Pinfield added. “That’s a rare gift.”

The British-born Kendall conceived 120 Minutes after joining MTV as a producer, pitching the network a dedicated program for the punk, post-punk, goth, synth-pop, ska, and other underground sounds largely ignored by corporate rock radio. 120 Minutes debuted on March 10th, 1986, and Kendall later served as its host from 1989 through 1992. “By far the most important thing about 120 Minutes was that it acted as a distribution channel for organic musical produce, if you will,” Kendall told CONSEQUENCE in a 2016 interview. “The only other outlet for non-mainstream music at the time was a few local college radio stations.”

In the years following his departure from MTV, Kendall continued working as a television host and producer while also frequently performing as a DJ. He later hosted a show on SiriusXM’s First Wave and served as a correspondent for the Bangkok Post in Thailand, where he lived during the latter part of his life.