"Jim wanted that larger than life wall of sound"

Kasim Sulton joined Todd Rundgren, Roger Powell and John "Willie" Wilcox in 1976 to complete Utopia's most successful and long lasting band line up. Todd originally formed Utopia in 1974, changing members several times (becoming a seven piece band at one point) before Kasim joined the group. During the decade that Kasim was in Utopia, the band released nine albums (each with a distinctly different concept) and toured extensively. After disbanding, they re-formed again in May 1992 for a brief tour in California and Japan.

There is much confusion as to when Kasim’s first concert was with Utopia! Kasim himself believes that it was in Binghamton, N.Y (as he remembers a worrying flight from Kingston N.Y.!), The Utopia Times lists Kasim’s debut as being 19th June 1976 at the Calderone Concert Hall, but there is a bootleg tape of a show on 9th June 1976 in Central Park, New York when Todd introduced Kasim as the new member!

Kasim’s first album release with Utopia was RA (released 2/5/77) which featured seven tracks that were written by various members of the band. Kasim co-wrote three tracks (Magic Dragon Theatre, Eternal Love and Singring and the Glass Guitar). He played bass on every track and sang or shared lead vocals on Magic Dragon Theatre, Hiroshima, Eternal Love and Sunburst Finish. In Singring and the Glass Guitar, the eighteen minute long track, Kasim is listed as playing the Wind in the vocals and instrumental solos section. In 1977 and 1978 Utopia completed a World tour to promote RA including their famous Pyramid stage set.

Before RA was released Kasim played bass on the critically acclaimed 1976 album release by Steve Hillage called “L”.

1977 also saw the beginning of Kasim’s working relationship with Meat Loaf and Jim Steinman. Todd was the producer of the award winning album Bat Out of Hell and all the members of Utopia played on it. The album was an "over-the-top" opera / rock-driven album with layer after layer of sounds on each track. Jim Steinman wrote the songs with the idea of a stage show in mind. Kasim played bass on all the tracks except Heaven Can Wait and sang background vocals on the title track.

Also in 1977, Utopia released the album Oops! Wrong Planet which contained the everlasting fan favorites Trapped (in which Kasim shares the lead with Todd) and Love Is The Answer (which was later a hit for England Dan and John Ford Coley). Kasim co-wrote two of the tracks on the album and sings lead on five of them.

Between 1978 and 1980 Kasim appeared on album releases by Todd Rundgren, The Tom Robinson Band, Rick Derringer, Frankie Eldorado and Shaun Cassidy.

On 2nd September 1979 Kasim appeared with the other members of Utopia at the Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon. They played with Ringo Starr and Bill Wyman. Kasim sanging lead on one track (a video of this concert will be added to the site soon)