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MTV 120 Minutes January 21, 1990 [Host - Dave Kendall]

July 14th, 2026

By: Alex Young, Consequence of Sound

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

Kendall hosted the influential program from 1989 to 1992

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," Pin-field 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."

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