One Direction have beaten the Rolling Stones in the 2013 tour ticket battle.

Ticket marketplace Viagogo has revealed 'The X Factor' boy band were the most searched-for act for gig tickets , despite competition from some of the biggest names in music - including The Who and Kings of Leon.

When the 'Best Song Ever' hitmakers announced their 2014 European tour, the website registered half a million searches on within 24 hours.

Viagogo's Steve Roest said: ''One Direction's rise to supergroup status has been well and truly established this year. Their ability to draw higher demand than music industry stalwarts like the Rolling Stones and The Who suggests that it's the youth that really hold the power.

''With 1D kicking off their Where We Are European tour next April, we can only imagine the infamous boy band will maintain their dominance and ticket demand will continue to rocket into 2014.''

One Direction, made up of Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson, Liam Payne and Niall Horan, have spent most of this year on their 'Take Me Home' tour, performing in over 130 gigs across the globe.

They will kick off a string of concerts in South America in April 2014, before bringing the show to the UK in May.

The most in demand tickets of 2013, as recorded by Viagogo, are..

1. One Direction

2. Rolling Stones

3. Fleetwood Mac

4. The Who

5. Arctic Monkeys

6. Bastille

7. Depeche Mode

8. Kings of Leon

9. Black Sabbath

10. Stereophonics