He traveled down to London by train, with Smith providing him with a concert ticket, covering the expense of his hotel room and placing him under the care of her guitarist Lenny Kaye.

He noted the "same old rasping saxophone sound", but added that the song is made "distinctive" by its "tinkling honky-tonk piano" and Scott's voice.

[9] Robbi Millar of Sounds wrote, "Playing this single reveal[s] a level of genuine passionate emotion often missed from today's charts.

"[10] In a review of The Waterboys, Ken Tucker of The Philadelphia Inquirer described "A Girl Called Johnny" as "a beautiful song, full of a romantic excessiveness that is endearing.

"[13] In a 2017 retrospective on the "best of Mike Scott", Tom Doyle of Q included "A Girl Called Johnny" as one of ten tracks on the list and described it as a "brilliant debut single with loping piano riff and lyric inspired by the attitude of Patti Smith".