Jake Bugg thinks One Direction are ''terrible''.

The 18-year-old musician is shocked at the comparison people have drawn between the five-piece 'X Factor' contestants and legendary band the Beatles as he believes the boys don't have the unique talent the 'Help' rockers did.

Jake complained: ''Who the f**k is saying [they're the closest thing to rock stars we have these days]? Oh, I'm pretty sure they have a good laugh. But it's easy to, isn't it? When you don't have to write any songs.

''People [call them the new Beatles] because they broke America, but that don't mean a thing. I mean, [One Direction] must know that they're terrible.

''They must know ... calling them the new rock stars is a ridiculous statement. And people should stop making it.''

Jake - whose self-titled debut album hit the number one spot in the UK charts following its release last October - worked hard to get his music noticed when growing up in Nottingham, East Midlands, due to a majority of the gigs he tried to play at were in were pubs, which he was too young to enter at the time.

However, the British singer songwriter feels the ''experience'' helped him get to where he is today.

He continued to Short List magazine: ''Some of [the pubs] would be like, 'Don't be daft. You're 15, you're not coming in the pub. But then some places gave me a couple of slots, and people saw my face a bit more.

''I did that for a couple of years before I got signed. The crowds were hit and miss, but it gave me that experience.''