Subsequently, Coghlan played with Partners in Crime, but the band failed to earn major attention. He also played on a one-off single by The Rockers, a supergroup also featuring Roy Wood, Phil Lynott and Chas Hodges. Their "We Are The Boys (Who Make All The Noise)", a rock and roll medley, was released in November 1983 and made No. 79 in the chart. His own band, John Coghlan's Diesel, was a loose ensemble of musicians he'd known in his years with Quo, notably Bob Young and Andy Bown. Diesel never signed a proper recording contract.