He performed as part of the Sole Twisters, Harem Scarem and Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls, and fronted his band Crown of Thorns.

[2][3] Fellow musician and friend Suzannah Espie set up a GoFundMe page which raised over AU$100,000 in just a few days before ceasing to accept further donations.

[12] While a member of Harem Scarem, Wilson provided harmonica on Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls' debut album, Gossip (September 1986).

[8] Their debut release was a six-track extended play, Gnawing on the Bones of Elvis(Crawdaddy Records), which was produced by the band and appeared in April 1988.

Crawdaddy Records), using a line up of Wilson, Palmer and Rodgers, joined by Justin Brady on violin, Barbara Waters on guitar, vocals and mandolin (ex-Hollowmen) and former bandmate Jones on drums.

[6] In 1990 the group released another studio album, Babylon(Crawdaddy Records) with Wilson, Rodgers and Waters joined by Ashley Davies on drums (ex-White Cross).

[6][11] Los Angeles Times' reviewer, Mike Boehm, felt that on the album "he sometimes becomes bogged down with self-conscious attempts at poetic imagery, and that high-voltage vocal style can seem strident".

[19] Laurie White caught their gig at Tilley's which "a privileged few will remember for an age (if only I'd taken a Walkman like one lucky bootlegger)" with Wilson described as "a huge writhing gospel cyber punk, [who] sings and plays harp with such venom and power it's impossible to ignore him against melancholy songs (reminiscent of Archie Roach at his most tearful).

[6] In March 1993, Wilson and fellow Australian singer-songwriters Barnard, Kelly, Archie Roach, Deborah Conway and David Bridie each performed a set at a Hollywood concert, The Melbourne Shuffle.

[18] As a performer Wilson showed "a dry, laconic wit between songs, [he] was a fervent, let-it-all-out wailer when he began to sing".

[22] Wilson toured extensively and played at many festivals, both in Australia and overseas, and shared stages with Bob Dylan, and with Johnny Diesel.

[24] Other performers were Dean Addison on bass guitar, Angus Diggs on drums, and Rob Woolf on keyboards and backing vocals.

[25] Paul Petran of Radio National's Live on Stage felt Short Cool Ones was "one of the most successful blues albums in Australian history".

[6] In May Wilson supported Kelly at the Metro in Melbourne where Wilson was "crashing through a slightly hollow mix with a bunch of the good stuff, picking the eyes out of his recent Long Weekend thing, and throwing in some older selections – the 'best done by Elvis' Mystery Train being a big blow, as is the pump action 'Shoot Out at Seven Eleven', while the big ballady 'Too Many Hearts' again is a glory and must be a single, surely".

[9] Melbourne Blues Rock website's Tim Slingsby reviewed the album in September 2011 and noted it was "a mix of covers and originals.

[29] Slingsby felt the "production allows both the guitar and harmonica to stand out on tracks, trade off licks, and then fall back to accompany the other instruments.

Overall the album has a strong dynamic range with slower, sultry songs inserted amongst the more lively tracks without dropping off in feel".

"[32] On 26 October 2013, Wilson Diesel reunited to perform the entire Short Cool Ones album at the Sydney Blues & Roots Festival.