Despite its international appeal, the song was not a major hit in North America, where the flipside "Girls' School" received more airplay and reached #33 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #34 on the Canadian RPM charts.
Meanwhile, in Canada, "Girls' School"/"Mull of Kintyre" was initially tracked as a double A-side, and reached #44 on the pop charts before "Mull of Kintyre" was dropped from the chart listings as of 21 January 1978.