It appears that Ozzy Osbourne and Eddie Van Halen share a mutual admiration for a decidedly not heavy album from the 1980s — Peter Gabriel’s 1986 masterpiece So.

Ozzy’s fascination with the Peter Gabriel album that produced “Sledgehammer,” “Big Time,” “In Your Eyes,” and the duet with Kate Bush, “Don’t Give Up,” surfaced during his son Louis Osbourne’s guest appearance on Jack Osbourne’s Trying Not to Die podcast.

What Did Ozzy Osbourne Think of Peter Gabriel’s So Album?

“Dad was obsessed at the time, and with the musical production thing, [with] Peter Gabriel’s So album. God we listened to that album …. Dad was mad into it. Most of our lives it was Beatles, Beatles, Beatles that we listened to all the time, but that was one of the albums that he [loved],” shared Louis, who later revealed that Ozzy had a crush on Kate Bush, who featured on the heartfelt duet with Gabriel titled “Don’t Give Up.”

As previously mentioned earlier this year, Peter Gabriel’s So album was also Eddie Van Halen’s all-time favorite album, according to Wolfgang Van Halen.

“His favorite album of all-time along with one of my favorite albums was So by Peter Gabriel. He had a very eclectic taste,” noted Eddie’s son. Wolfgang even chose “In Your Eyes” from Peter Gabriel as his wedding song to honor his father, as he shared in a 2023 Consequence interview.

Gabriel’s fifth studio album peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart, while “Sledgehammer” became the first song to reach No. 1 for Gabriel in the U.S. The album has been certified five times platinum by the RIAA.

What Else Did We Learn About Ozzy Osbourne’s Musical Taste From His Sons?

During the podcast, both Jack and Louis Osbourne provided extensive insights into Ozzy’s personal musical preferences.

“Everyone assumed that he was all into [rock] but he didn’t really listen to rock. He would appreciate it. He could understand it. He was more intrigued with music that had really amazing production and melody,” revealed Jack Osbourne during their discussion.

“He was listening to things like Tears for Fears and quite a lot of ’80s music,” Louis Osbourne shared regarding Ozzy’s listening habits in the period leading up to his passing.

Jack added that it wasn’t unusual for Ozzy to enjoy music outside of rock and metal. “He loved music from the ’80s. He went through a heavy Michael Jackson phase over the last couple of years,” he noted.

Louis further stated, “I’ll tell you who really, really, really did blow him away was Adele. He was massive. He was massively in awe of her vocal range and her singing. He was really quite blown away….. and Amy Winehouse as well. He played Amy Winehouse a lot. But in the last 20 years, they are probably two of the greatest voices to come out of the U.K.”

Jack then mentioned Ozzy’s appreciation for Annie Lennox and added that Sharon Osbourne had been encouraging Ozzy to create a duets record with some of his favorite female vocalists in the latter years of his life.

READ MORE: Axl Rose Shares Heartfelt Message Following Black Sabbath Farewell Show

So what did Ozzy listen to from the rock world? “He would listen to AC/DC. He would listen to some …. but really only actually probably AC/DC,” began Jack Osbourne before expanding on the list. “I would hear him listening to Metallica occasionally. Guns N’ Roses.”

Check out more of the chat below.

Louis Osbourne Guests on the Trying Not To Die Podcast