The title, when combined with the band name, references a lyric from the McCartney-penned Beatles song "Penny Lane": "And then the fireman rushes in / From the pouring rain / Very strange."

One line of lyrics included in the song "Palo Verde" was taken from an unreleased track of McCartney's, titled "Let Me Love You Always".

[1] In an edition of Club Sandwich magazine, two more songs were mentioned: "Plum Jam" and "Through the Marshes".

"[5] Better received than predecessor Strawberries Oceans Ships Forest, to promote the album McCartney held a 70 minutes webcast on 2 October 1998.

He performed live on guitar, bass and keyboards to the Rushes basic tracks, while a woman was answering the questions submitted by the users.