# Sean DeLear

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**Sean DeLear** (1964 – September 5, 2017)[1] was a member of the “Silver Lake scene” of postpunk and powerpop artists and musicians living in Los Angeles's in the 1980s and 1990s.[2][3][4] They were the lead singer of the band Glue.[5]

## Work

DeLear was a collaborator with performance-based artists such as [Vaginal Davis](/source/Vaginal_Davis), Brian Grillo, and [Kembra Pfahler](/source/Kembra_Pfahler).[6] Later, DeLear was in the art collective [Gelitin](/source/Gelitin) and performed as a solo cabaret artist in *Sean DeLear on the Rocks*.[7][8]

They were a cultural boundary breaker and transcended sexuality, race, age, genres, and scenes.[9][10]

In 2022, [Semiotext(e)](/source/Semiotext(e)) published, *[I Could Not Believe It, The 1979 Teenage Diaries of Sean DeLear](/source/I_Could_Not_Believe_It,_The_1979_Teenage_Diaries_of_Sean_DeLear)* by Sean DeLear.[11][12][13] The book chronicles the early years of his burgeoning queerness and punk community in California, notably becoming a pioneer members of the “Silver Lake scene” of post-punk and power pop and one of the few black artist in the scene during that time. The book includes an introduction by writer and artist [Brontez Purnell](/source/Brontez_Purnell) and was co-edited by writer and editor [Michael Bullock](/source/Michael_Bullock_(editor)) and [Cesar Padilla](/source/Cesar_Padilla).[14][15]

A reading for the book was held at the Poetry Project Fall of 2023 and featured readers like Xander Aviance, Kyle Carrero Lopez, Anne Hanavan, [K8 Hardy](/source/K8_Hardy), [Juliana Huxtable](/source/Juliana_Huxtable), [Kembra Pfahler](/source/Kembra_Pfahler), and [Journey Streams](/source/Journey_Streams).[16]

*The Life of Sean DeLear*, a documentary film about DeLear by Markus Zizenbacher, premiered at the [Frameline Film Festival](/source/Frameline_Film_Festival) in 2024.[17]

## Publications

- *I Could Not Believe It: The 1979 Teenage Diaries of Sean DeLear*, Sean DeLear, Introduction by [Brontez Purnell](/source/Brontez_Purnell), Edited by [Michael Bullock](/source/Michael_Bullock_(editor)) and [Cesar Padilla](/source/Cesar_Padilla) ([Semiotext(e)](/source/Semiotext(e)), 2023)

## References

1. Lecaro, Lina (2017-09-08). ["R.I.P. Sean DeLear, the Fabulous Glue Front(wo)man Who Made L.A. Shine Brighter - LA Weekly"](https://www.laweekly.com/r-i-p-sean-delear-the-fabulous-glue-frontwoman-who-made-l-a-shine-brighter/). Retrieved 2025-04-29. Cross-dressing punk singer, party maven and ubiquitous L.A. scene-stealer Anthony Robertson, better known as Sean DeLear, died in Vienna Tuesday afternoon after a short battle with liver cancer.

1. ["Sean DeLear"](https://mitpress.mit.edu/author/sean-delear-39752/). *MIT Press*. Retrieved 2023-02-28.

1. Weekly, L. A. (2017-09-08). ["R.I.P. Sean DeLear, the Fabulous Glue Front(wo)man Who Made L.A. Shine Brighter"](https://www.laweekly.com/r-i-p-sean-delear-the-fabulous-glue-frontwoman-who-made-l-a-shine-brighter/). *LA Weekly*. Retrieved 2023-02-28.

1. Stegall, Tim (August 3, 2021). ["Kid Congo Powers on his new EP and the LGBTQIA+ roots of punk"](https://www.altpress.com/kid-congo-powers-part-two/). *Alternative Press Magazine*. Retrieved 2023-02-28.

1. ["I Could Not Believe It"](https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/I-Could-Not-Believe-It-by-Sean-Delear/9781635901832). *blackwells.co.uk*. Retrieved 2023-02-28.

1. Blanks, Tim (2022-12-15). ["Rick Owens and Ron Athey were born from the sociosexual underworlds of Los Angeles"](https://www.documentjournal.com/2022/12/rick-owens-and-ron-athey-were-born-from-the-sociosexual-underworlds-of-los-angeles/). *Document Journal*. Retrieved 2023-02-28.

1. ["Kid Congo and the Pink Monkey Birds: Swing From the Sean DeLear"](https://www.popmatters.com/kid-congo-swing-sean-delear). *PopMatters*. 2021-04-15. Retrieved 2023-02-28.

1. Trembley, Nicolas (March 4, 2008). ["Nicolas Trembley on Gelitin at the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris"](https://www.artforum.com/diary/nicolas-trembley-on-gelitin-at-the-musee-d-art-moderne-de-la-ville-de-paris-19615). *www.artforum.com*. Retrieved 2023-02-28.

1. Morrison, Rachael (May 16, 2014). ["Sean DeLear | PARIS LA"](https://www.paris-la.com/archive2008-2020/tag/sean-delear/). Retrieved 2023-02-28.

1. ["The Artist's Round Table: Legendary Figures On Generating Queer Counterculture"](https://www.out.com/out-exclusives/2016/9/26/artists-round-table-legendary-figures-generating-queer-counterculture). *www.out.com*. Retrieved 2023-02-28.

1. ["I Could Not Believe It"](https://mitpress.mit.edu/9781635901832/i-could-not-believe-it/). *MIT Press*. Retrieved 2024-02-20.

1. Purnell, Sean DeLear and Brontez (2023-03-27). ["I Could Not Believe It: The 1979 Teenage Diaries of Sean DeLear"](https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2023/03/27/the-diaries-of-sean-delear/). *The Paris Review*. Retrieved 2024-02-20.

1. ["Book Launch for I Could Not Believe It: The 1979 Teenage Diaries of Sean DeLear"](https://www.poetryproject.org/events/book-launch-for-i-could-not-believe-it-the-1979-teenage-diaries-of-sean-delear). *The Poetry Project*. 2023-09-29. Retrieved 2024-02-20.

1. ["Queer Punk Icon Sean DeLear's 1979 Diary Becomes a Memoir"](https://www.wmagazine.com/culture/sean-delear-i-could-not-believe-it-book-interview). *W Magazine*. 2023-05-25. Retrieved 2024-02-20.

1. ["Dale Corvino with Cesar Padilla — 'Bonds & Boundaries' and 'I Could Not Believe It: The 1979 Teenage Diaries of Sean DeLear' | Third Place Books"](https://www.thirdplacebooks.com/event/dale-corvino-cesar-padilla). *www.thirdplacebooks.com*. Retrieved 2024-02-20.

1. ["Book Launch for I Could Not Believe It: The 1979 Teenage Diaries of Sean DeLear"](https://www.poetryproject.org/events/book-launch-for-i-could-not-believe-it-the-1979-teenage-diaries-of-sean-delear). *The Poetry Project*. 2023-09-29. Retrieved 2024-02-20.

1. Valerie Complex, ["Frameline Unveils Full Lineup For 2024 San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival"](https://deadline.com/2024/05/frameline-unveils-lineup-2024-san-francisco-international-lgbtq-film-festival-1235926501/). *[Deadline Hollywood](/source/Deadline_Hollywood)*, May 22, 2024.

## External links

- [Sean DeLear](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7729786/) at IMDb

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Sean DeLear](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sean_DeLear) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sean_DeLear?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.