Working as a labourer to pay his way, Clapton spent most of his free time playing his electric guitar. Eventually he joined a local band, The Roosters. He later joined Casey Jones And The Engineers with fellow band member Tom McGuiness. In 1963, Clapton was asked to join The Yardbirds. It was in the Yardbirds that he earned his nickname of 'Slowhand'. The name came from his forceful string-bending that often caused broken guitar strings. He would replace the strings on stage while the crowd slowly clapped their hands.