MTV alternative music host and 120 Minutes creator Dave Kendall dies
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Dave Kendall, the British-born creator and one of the best-known hosts of MTV’s late-night alternative music programme *120 Minutes*, has died. His death matters because he helped bring alternative and underground acts to a much wider television audience at a time before that music had fully entered the mainstream, making him an influential figure in late-1980s and early-1990s music broadcasting. The news was announced by former *120 Minutes* host Matt Pinfield, who praised Kendall’s role in championing artists and connecting authentically with viewers.
Kendall created *120 Minutes* in 1986 and hosted it from 1988 to 1992, during years when the show became a key outlet for post-punk, indie and alternative music. The programme ran for 120 minutes and featured artists such as Kate Bush, the Ramones and They Might Be Giants; Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” also premiered there on 29 September 1991. No cause of death was given, and the coverage also noted Kendall’s wider career as a DJ, TV reporter and producer, Sirius Satellite Radio host, and later a contributor to the *Bangkok Post*.
- Dave Kendall, creator and host of *120 Minutes*, has died
- He helped popularise alternative music on MTV
- No cause of death was disclosed
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MTV was a major music television channel whose programmes helped shape how many people discovered new artists in the 1980s and 1990s. At the time, alternative music was a broad label for styles outside the biggest pop and rock acts, including indie, post-punk and underground bands.
120 Minutes was MTV’s late-night programme devoted to this music. It showed videos, featured interviews and introduced viewers to artists who often received little exposure elsewhere on television.
Dave Kendall was a British broadcaster, DJ and producer who created the programme and became one of its most familiar presenters. His work helped give alternative artists a national and international audience before the growth of the internet made music discovery more widely accessible.
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Originally published by Brooklyn Vegan as “Dave Kendall, ‘120 Minutes’ creator and host, has died”.