Show creator and host of the influential MTV show 120 Minutes, Dave Kendall has passed at 63. According to Bangkok Post where Kendall worked from 2017 to 2025, also ran an obituary His friend Matt Pinfield, who hosted the show after Kendall’s tenure, shared the news on Instagram. No cause of death was given.

“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. 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. That’s a rare gift,” wrote Pinfield, in a tribute to Kendall.

The British-born Kendall got his start writing about music for UK and U.S. publications such as Melody Maker and Spin, he explained in a website bio. In the 1980s Kendall relocated to New York City and created 120 Minutes for MTV, where he spent seven years as a writer, producer, presenter, and news reporter. Launched in 1986 the show conceived as a home for alternative music, three years before Kendall took over as its ever-impassioned host. As well as promoting bands like Sonic Youth and Pixies, Kendall helped shepherd the Nirvana explosion, hosting the premiere of “Smells Like Teen Spirit” in 1991.

His bio detailed career when he hosted and co-produced the talk show Music Scoupe, as well as taking on various radio, TV, and DJing gigs. From the mid ’90s, he embarked on a career in digital journalism that included some of the first online video streaming shows. Eventually returned to TV before settling in Thailand and joining Bangkok Post.