Gotye has claimed that he didn’t write ‘Somebody That I Used To Know’ with the intention of it becoming a global smash.

The Belgian-born singer’s collaboration with New Zealand chanteuse Kimbra spent eight weeks at number one in Australia, is currently in its fifth in the UK, and has also topped the charts in nine other countries including Denmark, Germany and Ireland.

But the 31-year-old told Q magazine that the response to the song, which he admits took six months to finish, has taken him completely by surprise:

“I didn’t intend to write a commercial pop song and match the Rihannas of the world. So it shows I can write material which catches people on its own terms.

However, Gotye, real name Wouter De Backer, was less than complimentary when asked about some of the fans who have uploaded their own version of the song online:

“People have loved it so much, there are countless remixes and covers. Some are really s**t, so I’ve also been thinking, 'Does this mean a lotta s**t musicians like my stuff?'”