The song has been covered by numerous artists, most notably by Luther Ingram in 1987, Aswad in 1988, Bonnie Tyler in 1988, Eyes in 1990, Neil Diamond in 1991, Ace of Base in 1993, and Albert Hammond in 2010.
In 1993, Swedish pop group Ace of Base recorded a minor-key version of "Don't Turn Around" for their US debut album, The Sign (1993).
We thought if we can transform it a bit into minor, in the chorus and so on, it could be OK. After the huge success of the band's European debut album, Happy Nation, American label Arista wanted to release it with some new tracks for the US market.
They suggested that Ace of Base should make a cover on British reggae group Aswad's 1988 version of "Don't Turn Around".
AllMusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine stated that with singles like "All That She Wants", "The Sign", and "Don't Turn Around", "it's easy to see why they were hits – the beat is relentless and the hooks are incessantly catchy.
[26] Larry Flick from Billboard wrote that the Swedish pop phenomenon "will, once again, blaze up the Hot 100 with its slick, lightweight reading of a tune popularized by Aswad."
You can bet on it, with the release of the next single from the quartet's smash The Sign, a song made popular in reggae circles by Aswad.
[27] David Browne from Entertainment Weekly remarked that "the jauntily forlorn" song is "preeminent Europop, all brassy hooks, rushing beats, and exuberant singing that brings to mind Swedish cheerleaders in an ABBA cabaret.
"[28] Dave Sholin from the Gavin Report noted that "for their third time at the plate this sensational pop foursome is about take a trip around the bases with what is another surefire home run!
"[29] In his weekly UK chart commentary, James Masterton wrote, "Ace of Base's version borrows from the Aswad arrangement but transform it still further from being the simple pop song it was originally into a mournful ballad, dark and mysterious.
[32] Alan Jones from Music Week gave it four out of five, adding, "The Aswad chart-topper is stripped of much of its melody, and given a heavily percussive workover in order to fit the Ace of Base mould.
[34] Bob Waliszewski of Plugged In (publication) found that "Don't Turn Around" and "The Sign" "demonstrate strength in the wake of romantic rejection.
In Europe, it made it to the top ten in Austria (8), Denmark (4), Finland (3), Germany (6), Iceland (10), Ireland (8), the Netherlands (7), Scotland (8), and the UK, as well as on the Eurochart Hot 100, where it peaked at number seven in April 1994.
[44] The lighthouse in the video is located in Bill Bags Cape Florida State Park on Key Biscayne, one of Miami's barrier islands.