Dave Kendall, Creator and Longtime Host of MTV’s 120 Minutes, Dies

Dave Kendall, creator and former host of MTV’s “120 Minutes,” has died, according to a post from his friend and latter-day host of the show, Matt Pinfield. No caused of death or age were cited, although he was likely in his sixties.

From scrappy beginnings, the show launched on March 10, 1986 and quickly became a high-profile platform for the rising wave of indie and left-of-center musicians that would soon be dubbed “alternative.” While Kendall, a British-born music journalist, was sometimes seen as an emissary of the “establishment” by the snooty intelligentsia of the indie-sphere, his knowledge of and passion for the music he presented was obvious and genuine.

“At the beginning it was pure chaos,” he said in a SiriusXM documentary video on the show. “I wanted to play music that I thought was cool and original, but the programming department wanted to include all the videos that were in light rotation, folks like Michael Barnes and Jermaine Jackson.

“I had zero experience as a tv producer,” he added.

However, Kendall’s vision won out, and he made the show happen his way. The MTV management team realized he was onto something, and artists from Sonic Youth to the Mighty Lemon Drops and beyond received big looks on the show at a time when there was no email or internet, let alone social media and YouTube, and few televised outlets for that type of music.

Originally its producer, Kendall hosted the show from 1989 until 1992 — ironically, just as the genres of music he’d championed were reaching peak popularity — and worked as a DJ and video host for SiriusXM and a number of outlets. In recent years he lived in Thailand and Indonesia, working as a correspondent for the Bangkok Post and championing environmental causes.

“Dave was one of the true believers,” Pinfield wrote. “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. 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,” he concluded. “That’s a rare gift.”