Utopia - Set Me Free (Live In Boston 1982)

Utopia is an U.S. American rock band formed by legendary Todd Rundgren. This video is from their live at The Metro, Boston, MA on November 4th, 1982. Band members: Todd Rundgren, Roger Powell, Kasim Sulton and John Wilcox. "Set Me Free" was the biggest hit for Utopia (from their 1979 LP "Adventures in Utopia"), number 27 in Billboard Hot 100.

Many of their songs originated with Rundgren, but "Set Me Free" came from their bass player, Kasim Sulton. The song sounds like it's about an interpersonal relationship, with the guy asking the girl to cut him loose so he can move on with his life, but it's really about Sulton's professional life. All four members of Utopia were signed to Bearsville Records not just as a band, but individually as well. Sulton desperately wanted to do a solo album, but was rebuffed by Bearsville, so he wrote this song about wanting to be released from his contract. In our interview with Sulton, he explained: "Albert Grossman actually said to me, 'That's fine. You're more than welcome to go. That'll be $50,000 and 15 percent of all the royalties that you'll ever make for the rest of your life.' And I freaked out and I wrote Set Me Free.'"