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03/24/2004: "London to get taste of Peas"

U.S. hip-hoppers Black Eyed Peas will be in London May 3.

U.S. hip-hop superstars Black Eyed Peas are bringing their Elephunk tour to London in May. Elephunk (Universal) is the group's third album and has already yielded two No. 1 hit singles in Canada, the Los Angeles band's biggest market outside the U.S. The Black Eyed Peas -- Will.I.Am, Apl.De.Ap, Taboo and newcomer Fergie -- named the album Elephunk to conjure up the image of a big, deep funk sound.

The hip-hop collective is touring to support Elephunk, which contains the Grammy-nominated hit single Where Is the Love? Known to fans by the initials BEP, Black Eyed Peas play Club Phoenix on May 3.

Tickets are $30 or $35 in advance, plus service charges. They're available at the club, 441 Richmond St., (963-1448) and go on sale Thursday at Ticketmaster outlets (in London, Ticketmaster outlets are at Sunrise Records shops) on the Web at www.ticketmaster.ca or by phone at 488-1012.

Elephunk draws from many sources, something Will.I.Am says was intentional, lyrically and musically.

"This is a hip-hop record, but we didn't go into this with hip-hop on our mind," he says. "We were just thinking of good songs, good music. We didn't want to say anything typical, like 'My style is this and my rhymes are like that' . . . we were really tired of saying things like that."

Elephunk also welcomes a new member into the BEP fold: Fergie, a singer who met Will.I.Am at shows around L.A. and was invited to join in on a recording session. In the studio, one song turned into three and then turned to five and finally into an invitation to join the group.

Elephunk's third hit single, Hey Mama, is already in Top 20s across Canada. The album is No. 1 or No. 2 on most charts.

Source: The London Free Press