Supreme Records head Nick East requested that SAW produce a song in line with the flavour of their debut hit, but more accessible.

[1] The lyrics of the song were inspired by the sisters' dismissive and shame-free response to a tabloid scandal over the emergence of old nude glamour photos of Mel.

East changed his mind after an early performance of the track on a TV show in the Netherlands received a rapturous response.

[1] The sampled laughter heard through the song was captured during studio conversation between the act and producers, with the sisters initially unaware the interaction would end up on the record.

[1] In his dance column published in Record Mirror, James Hamilton presented "Respectable" "a beefily bounding 0-121+3⁄4bpm house-type churner", adding it adds "a deadly commercial Eurobeat-ish singalong vocal melody, and more sparsely Chicago-style (0-)119+1⁄4bpm Extra Beat Version jack track flip".

[2] Pete Clark of Smash Hits stated that the song would be a treat for only "very, very sad people" and considered "the gimmickly noises and Pinky and Perky vocals effects... are as irritating as a talkative Weetabix".

"[26] The song also features in BBC comedy series Gary: Tank Commander, as the mobile phone ringtone of the titular character.