Released as a single in October 1988 from her debut album, Ancient Heart (1988), it was Tikaram's biggest international success, achieving top-10 placings in several European countries.

Graeme Kay from Smash Hits wrote, "However this "newie" is not in the slightest bit similar [to "Good Tradition"], for it's a moody, slow moving tale of emotional turmoil that Tanita rasps out to the sound of her gently plucked guitar.

"[6] Jerry Smith of Music Week noted that Tikaram "follows up with the atmospheric reflective track from her Ancient Heart album ["Good Tradition"]", and thought it was likely to become "another hit".

Shot on location on the Altiplano Plateau in Bolivia, the video shows various residents of a destitute village interacting with each other amidst their daily struggles.

[32] In 1996, a remixed house version by Ramp (Simon Rogers and Shem McCauley) with a much faster tempo was included on the compilation The Best of Tanita Tikaram and was released as a single to promote the album.

[citation needed] In 2002, band Darkwell released album Conflict of interest which included cover version of Twist In My Sobriety.